DUTY ON OILS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2555, 1 September 1915, Page 7

DUTY ON OILS

TO PREVENT EXPLOITATION j A DRASTIC- MEASURE • , The Trade and Commerce . Regulation .j 'Amendment Bill was introduced by tho ; •Minister of -Finance (Sir Joseph -Ward), | who claimed urgency for the .measure. ; Speaking on tie subject earlier in the • (afternoon, SIR JOSEPH WARD said he proposed to introduce legislation that day to provide that in " all cases ' where tho . '4d per gallon duty on benzine and kerosene was being chargcd to consumers for : oil -which had not -paid duty,. Ms purchaser should be; entitled to . a refund of the added' charge. This / tax'. was not an ordinary Customs tax such as • jnight.be imposed when the tariff, was ' revised. Tnis was a war tax: 'Under theso conditions it. would not be proper to allow the people to be ex- ■ ploited by tlie: addition to the selling | price of the amount of tho duty,.. 'Some people recognised this. He produced a : letter, from a firm in Christcliurcli who expressed this view; . The letter stated that if any merchant sold, at the ordinary priceiess duty his stocks.would be ■ snapped up by speculators, and his action would- do no good. They calculated that the profit they would make by adding the duty to the cost of oils .-held in stock would be £20 Bs.;4d. To : this money they did not consider that thev were entitled, and they .forwarded a cheque for it to the Government. Referring to the Bill, he said that tho ■proposal was that the Bill should- coine into operation on September 1, 1915. It provided that tlio. maximum price for -the refined mineral oils - specified should be tho same as the prices ruling for those goods on August 20, Ivlp. Any : purchaser who was required to pay more than this rate for_oils purchased since the passing of the resoluthe House imposing the duty of 4d. per gallon on theso cils would bo entitled to a refund. Doubt as to the Method. Mr. J. M'COMBS (Lyttelton) pointed /out difficulties ill tbe Bill, which, he feared, would'iiot meet the situation, If motor spirit wcro imported to-morrow it would be dutiable, and there would be no market fot it at the higher rates. Also' the Bill did not provide against : the purchase by s wealthy man . of a big ' stock for his moior-cars, even as mncli < as .1000 cases, -anl so, avoiding tlie war ! tax for a very lonj time. This position / was not met at, ill by tho Bill. He thought the best nethod for the Government to follow iwuld be to declare all '.the stores bonded,;and tho duty could then be collected oi'the stocks held. Mr. C. A. AVIIXINSON (Eltham) agreed that ibe Bill did not provide an equitable, solution o'_..tho difficult, tnd^

that the suggestion of the member for Lyttelton afforded' a more practicable niothod: He thought all stooks now held ought to bo dutiable. ; Personally he was going to oppose the levying of suoli heavy duties on benzine and korosene, but if the duty was to be put on, the Government should get it at onco and should not allow the people ,to be exploited. Against the Tax. Dr. A. K. NEWMAN . (Wellington Bast) said that ho feared' that the . Minister would not find tho Bill a workable one. There was.a very'strong opposition .to. the, tax right through New Zealand, for it would press very heavily on certain industries 'and on poor people who could not afford. to liavo gas or electric light in their He would suggest to ! the Minister to witMraw the duty. The money could be got in .some other, way.. . . Mr. Massey: In what other way? Several honourable members : Beer. - Dr. Newman : A ono per cent, tax on 1 , exports will do it, sir. _ An^ extra threepence on beer will bring:in. £120,000. Or you can put four bob on whisky. He , said that if the.'Minister wanted to tax-wealthy owners of motor-cars he should tax motor-cars. (Hear, hear.) 1 : Dr. Thacker, Mr. Lee, Mr. Witliy, • Mr. Isitt, Mr. Buick, Mr. Webb; Mr.. Escott, and: Mr. T. A. Field all spoke in opposition to the; method of procedure proposed, arid . most of them in opposition to the tax. SIR JOSEPH WARD, in reply, said he did not approve of the proposal, to declare. all stocks of kerosene bonded arid .dutiable. Ho would not discuss the merits of the tax .on, the Bill. The Bill was passed through all ■