TAX OR BORROW.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 280, 7 August 1909, Page 7

TAX OR BORROW.

SPEECH BY : THE :ATTORNEY-CENERAL. ■■■'.■.[.. MORE MONSY-WANTED. ' '(From Our Jpeciil •!.-. '\\.? : :":; "'■■[[ -• V ; °; Folding, August 8, .'. ;yDuring,the course of;-a political■"; address 1 horo /to-night,;. ■ : .tK».:Atfcorney-Genoral V (the ;Hon;V ; Dr/V; : Findlay) ; 'dealt'; with recent criticism on; his utterances in.regard to .taxation; Ho' had Keen- reminded fte said) that, taxation was not a; pleasant; subject ibr;;. a'public platform." ■ , Ho: admitted; it.' .Dental, ; .operations, even ■, though absolutely 'necessary for bodily .health,;' could ? scarcely .be', discussed'- bofore tho patient with much e'nto^airiment ; Vyih r Adam 'Smith's : day. did ■. nothing - to ; ' increase ; ; ywoalth; :-except 'to' 'defend,;"it/ private, .wealth .■ .in; Now ,Zbaland,liad v'in;creased.v,by; prer sereritceri yearsj^during..which ; period;, 'out': oT.loan : arid .revenue, .'the. 1 Government'; had: sipehfc.'about, -thirty inillioris 1 on'developmental work of'all .kinds..''Was. it iiiot fair that. ; somb'part" of that-increase, should bo■ returned -to'the State to; help.;to; payntho .-.interest' on, ■•'-.the,ilean moneys 'which produced the Increase,? . : ;, ■-; ;« . ';, ;lf- : Borroams Wers Stopped? : •': ' : '|.During'the. past 18 years tho Government has borrowed 27 millions', which had been ; spent mainly on- developing-arid settling the lands.;■ ■ Much: was; heard' against. State ;borrowing, and ,ho : admitted the virtue of .selfreliance,.but, suppbsbtho 27 millions had;been .rajsed by taxation, upon 1 whom would, itjhftvo. fallen^iijK>n;tnewh6lo.population, including' ■tho 800,000' or .900,000 people who 'had' 'rio' laridyor sufficient.,;meansjto tax, 'orupon' those .whoso-wealth was largely increased the proceeds of; such taxation ?. If borrowing .wsto stopped, development and .settlement would be largely..arrested; or tbe.m'oncy.re-', (quired to maintain ihe present/vigorbußidc-: must be raised By" increased taxa"that'taxation ; to fall?; Tho Govorriirierit's;. policy; and 7 , answer' Could, boyfbund iathe:-fact;that'"it-had mittcd Custom? duty,-, upon .'all .the ies and .reasoniile. comforts:tho people as a ..whole consumed.';;lt; had been, said .thaty.tho 'money :■ requiflit«. i for', developmeh t; could':•; he obtained' ',w%onrffn^H6r;;;taiatib^ v ;by';;moM; ecoHoiny -in tthS-jadmiriisfcratich; . of ' govern-: me'ntiv,How,/much?S'Unless'ihVsorvjcbywas Sacrificed-; further? reductions, thauyihbsc/con-; ■tomplated; word imr>ossible;.;:Tlieh,,;'again;.;it iwas asserted'thii'£soo,ooo a yea/could; and slibuld'bojeptiotit:of tub Tiiilways.'ffFiirthef, 'savings bo/ amount could-bevdorie.,only; by- ; lraisingv'.;by, ;prbbably: SO^per^ceiiti^tie.Tates^fbr^p^ssbn-;' , - gors'.; and freights; ;;;'• That'■•'in'creaso; would•;bo;' paidfmainly .by.ipeople; settled in the'cbwii;ry > aM country •towns;,;?;';; y : : ; '<;'. -^-)^:)

RaU ef Taxatlsn had twan Reduwd. Ho wished next to deal *ith the criticism which Mr. Maaaey had levelled at his statement at Tunaru, that tho great mass of the people paid between 25 per oerit and 30 per cent less taxes now than they did when the Liberal Government, came into Office- in 1891. Among othor things, Mr Mascoj had quoted figures from Uio Year Book to the effect that the total taxation collected per head of population in 1908 was £5 os. 4d , as against £3 0a 2d in 1891. What ho (Dr Findlay) said was that tho great maas of tho peoplethat was of course the roajontj of the population—had had the rate of taxation upon them reduced >Of tho, total population" of ono million tho number or direct taxpayers did not exceed 41,000 During the past ton years direct taxation had increased from to £1,460,299 This wa-s not through any increase in rat©, but through tho enormous increase in the pnvato wealth Twice as many peoplo now paid income tax and twice a* many paid laud tax During the same period Cnstoms and excise duties had increased from £2,187,859 to £2,917,4^2,, If expressed population, indirect taxation was "£3" Is '3d , whilst ten years ago it was £2 IBs 2d , if the total sum contributed was divided by tho total of population But that result would bo quite misleading, as the total included tho Customs duties on«all the expensive luxuries seldom, if at all, consumed by tho masses' He had , already given tho RegistrarGeneral's impartial estimate that during the, last ten rears the amount paid ill Customs taxation by a worker supporting a wife and family of five children on/an income of £4 per week had been reduced upon all imported goods used by them from £9 9s 9d. to £6 8s 4}d , or an equivalent of about, 25 per cent / , That' tho .cost of living had increased ' wis chiefly jswing, w the increase m tho, price of ant, bread, butter, eggs, poultry, and similar ai tides of food 1 for which taxation was in no way responsible Ho had been told by Mr Massey that if ho paid more attention to the political economy of Adam Smith he i would Know that ono section of the community could not bo compelled to pay more than its share of taxation without the whole community being affected. Mr. Massey gave no 'idea of what the shares/ should bo, but declared that an irertased taxation of tho land-owners affected the wages fund As a'matter of fact, if tho income of a landowner or anyone else, was reduced by taxation, or by any other cause, tho first thing ho reduced was not tho profitable" labour ho employed, but the luxuries ho and his household could well do without Modern tcit books on political science refuted that wages fund fallacy