Taxation

Press, 4 February 1982, Page 16

Taxation

Sir,—Mr Muldoon’s attitude to tax reduction and reform is irresponsible from one in his position. The attitude from the “hard-core" of the. Government is to. keep increasing taxation and Government spending, and to hell with the taxpayer. What gives Mr Muldoon the right to discount the possibility of cutting back Government spending? The country is seething with outrage at the enormous wastefulness of Government spending. Our railways and airline are sucking up millions of dollars, in spite of endless price increases; huge bureaucracies in the Labour, Statistics, Post Office, Ministry of Works and Development and other departments fritter away our money; and now the S.M.P.s are wasting $4OO million. Contrary to what Mr Muldoon thinks, there is plenty of agreement on where cuts can occur. The only “ideas for increasing Government spending” are coming from the bureaucrats themselves. — Yours, etc., JAMIE FRANCIS. February 2, 1982.

Sir,—lt is about time the issue of tax reform was “tossed’’ to the public. Here is a golden opportunity for all turnover tax supporters to let their own member. of Parliament and Mr Muldoon know what they want. The introduction of T.O.T. involves progressive reductions in income tax, over a period of three years, and introduction of the flatrate tax in stages to replace this (combined with the phasing out of profit and sales taxes). For instance, it is suggested that the first year of the transition period would see a 20 per cent reduction in income tax, and the introduction of a 2 per cent standard turnover tax. The second year would see the T.O.T. doubled and an even larger cut in income tax. This way the tax collected would not change; there would be no upheaval in the economy; and income tax payers would get the immediate tax relief they so badly need. — Yours, etc., M. J. STANLEY. February 2, 1982.