Tax bill irks farmers in Mid-Canterbury

Press, 27 April 1983, Page 26

Tax bill irks farmers in Mid-Canterbury

Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers will invite the associate Minister of Finance, Mr Falloon, to explain some factors of the Income Tax Amendment Bill, 1982.

The Lands Committee of the provincial district’s Federated Farmers has studied the bill and is disturbed about some of the implications it has found.

Reporting to the provincial executive, the junior vice-president, Mr E. Glass, said the bill was a “can of worms” for the bona fide farmer.

One of the main effects of the bill was that previously exempt expenditure on interest and development became taxable if a property changed ownership within 10 years.

Initially the object of it had been to catch the “city investors” but it had cast a much wider net; said Mr Glass. The committee had actual cases of the difficulties it had created for farmers. One case was of a farmer with three sons and a daughter. A farming company had been set up, but they were now farming in their own right. They wanted to do some estate planning in their own right, but if they carried on they would be liable for a tax bill of about $BOO,OOO. Mr Glass advised farmers to think again if they were thinking of handing over their farms “or even of dying.”

He said it had been difficult to find the objects of the amendment and when politicians were approached about it they obviously had no idea about the subject. They asked farmers to bring to them the “offending bits” of it which was an indictment of those who drew up the legislation. The other problenm was that so much of the interpretation of the bill was left to the district commissioners, who had been found to differ, he said.

Railways Federated Farmers wanted a railway system that was strong through efficiency rather than because of its monopoly, said the provincial president, Mr A. J. Blair. He was reporting on a meeting he had had with the Labour spokesman on trans-. port, Mr R. W. Prebble, during the week. Farmers were left with the residual amount gained for their products after costs, and they were concerned not only about the costs of processing but also of transport, he said. They did not want to see the demise of the railways in favour of road transport but were looking for competition between the two, he said. Hay bales The executive voted to pursue further its hope to get the Ministry of Transport to allow the cartage of big round hay bales stacked in such a way that they exceed the maximum width allowed.

The topic arose at a meeting earlier this year when it was reported that some transporters and farmers had struck difficulties with the Ministry when carting the bales stacked two-across the truck deck. The executive wrote to its Dominion office asking for the matter to be taken up with the department in Wellington, but a reply said there had been many requests, without success. The subject had been taken up at length during 1979 and 1980 and the reply from the department then was not favourable.

The department did not agree with the assertion that a double row of bales meant a more stable load.

An exemption already existed to 2.6 metres from the maximum 2.5 m, it was pointed out. To increased the limit further would mean that roads and bridges would have to be widened for safety.

The limit had been well known when the bales had been introduced, the Ministry had said. The executive, however, has asked its transport committee to investigate whether an exemption would be granted between certain hours.

Speakers said during the meeting ' that exemptions had been available last summer to cart the bales in double rows from Southland to Mid-Canterbury. The exemption was granted because of the lack of feed in some parts of the county. However, it was also said that bales were not allowed to be carted within or from the county in the same manner.