THE FINANCIAL DEBATE

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

THE FINANCIAL DEBATE

. : WAR FINANCE PROBLEMS ] • . £ TAXATION METHODS DISCUSSED. j r\.- . \ ■ The debate on the Miiancial State- i ment was commenced at 7.30' p.m. by ' Mr. Wilford. i Mr. T. M. WILFORD (Hutt) con- f gratulated the Finance Minister on the I Budget, and assured him that he meant I to criticise the Budget i constructively i rather than destructively. At this f period he believed that there should be i a national stocktaking of men and re- \ sources, lie said. He approved pf tho t National Register scheme, .which he| pre- 1 forred to call "a census of capacity." j It was fallacious to -.irgue that our ria- i tional register proposals amounted to ] conscription; Every man aaid woman of , reflective ago should be asked to an- ' swor the questions: "What call you i do?" and "What will you do?" There | should, also be- a record of the material ] resources of the country ;as well as the i human resources in order that tho Gov- j ernment might know what New Zealand j could do. Then we could know whether this' part of tlie greatest Empire tlio ..World has oyerknown wasVpulling its right weight. ; The splendid organisation along these lines in Germany.had i made lier such a powerful foe and such , a menace to the Empire-to-day. Mr. i ■ Wilford nest referred, to tho taxation ( proposals, especially .as affecting' the i farming community. These taxes ought I ■to bo regarded solely as, rev- ' enuo producing. taxes, and not as . what, .' were sometimes called ; "bursting-iip" taxes'. We must try to i remember also that' air farmers were ■ riot: prosperous : to-day I (Hear, .hear.) Some had suffered from drought, and , somei . beai'use owing : to ; shoitage , ,of shipping, they had not been able to' export their produce. Some had made war profits, and some had not. Ho was ; sorry to see no reasonable tax on the banks of .this country.' There was a ■ small tar on bank notes, but it was - absolutely/raadeguate.Ho ltnew that ■, in assailing" the banks 'the Government , anight do harm to the small trader j Whose finance was controlled . by the ' banks. V But'when' 1 banks , traded, virtu- ( ally as merchants, th&y should pay in- ] come tax. War profits should'be taxed, ( and not only the profits; of wool and . meat producers, but the war 1 profits of j trading concerns, some of ..which had. ' made huge sum's out of supplies of one ■ sort or another. He would come down ' t with a heavy, hand on those ..firms' ■ which had' made' ; big' profits by the war. And not only must the Government 'consider ' tho amount' of the profits, but. the limit'of the country's economic endurance, for this'factor of economic endurance would be the determining factor in. this war, now generally recognised as - a crisis, and not a mere episode. : Rigid Economy Must Rule. ' The most. rigid economy in . public and private,'life must be the rule in. this country. Every man and woman must practice economy'. . Mr. Peaice: What about the Government? •_ Mr. Wilford said that Great Britain would have to borrow —so 'it had been calculated—the colossal sum of two thousand millions sterling. There ivas no room'for waste, no room for making, profits at the expense of the State. In Franco, as in some, enemy countries, the laws of supply; and demand were abrogated,, were not allowed to operate to the detriment of the State. -In England huge fortunes were made by coal companies, - transport, companies, and others. Bargaining with the State still continued.'here, and drastic; State action was necessary :to stop it. "Business, as usual" was a damnable doctrine for a country at War. There were war profits taken to-day ; in this country which alone would pay the £2,000,000 required by ; the Government. There were war profits which had been disgorged and handed over by some people because they believed they were illgotten. If there were thousands of men in this country .like,that taxation proposals would not be required. Others had not given from their .profits, and they were/getting off lightly under the taxation proposals. He suggested that, the Commissioner of Taxes should havo the right to absolutely exempt from taxation; those 'men who had voluntarily given twice the amount "that the country would demand from them by way. of extra taxes.