OLD-AGE jPENBIONS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3185, 8 September 1917, Page 7

OLD-AGE jPENBIONS

FURTHER CONCESSIONS IMPOSSIBLE

STATEMENT BY FINANCE MINISTER Sir Joseph Ward made a statement to the House yesterday on tho subject of old-age pensions. Several timee in the course of the debate on the Finance Bill, he was asked to make concessions in pensions,, chiefly by way of allowing pensioners to earn more, or to hold more property, without suffering loss or reduction of pension, and his statement yesterday was n reply to those requests. Sir Joseph Ward Raid bo had received a -report from the Old-Age Pensions Department on the various proposals, and he wished to tell the House what, they meant. He regretted that he could not see hie way to giro effect to any of (hem, because of the additional amount of money that would be required. The total amount of increase would b<? -£172,000 per year. The cost, of exempting houses even of higher value than already allowed, would be -£50,000, ajid the very lowest estimate of the increase, cutting the values of houses down, was .625,000 per year. To exempt property to the valne of .£340 would cost , The increase of the exemption of income from .£34 to .£52 per year would cost J. 50,000. The exemption of income on cessation of employment would cost .£2OOO per year. The additional amount Tecmired for tbo increase of pensions would probably be more in, fact than, a quarter of a million, and be thought those honourable gentlemen who wished to help these oMac;e pensioners would Tequire that it was absolutely impossible at this time to provide this money on top of that already nrovided. Tt could be done only by increasing 6ome of the other taxes.

Mr. Tsitt: Would it. not be possible to give a certain discretionary pow// in the case of old people who are absolutely indigent, except for the home they are living in? Sir Joseph Ward: There is only one way in which.it can be done, and that is to provide the money to enable the Department to pay in cases of this land. The difficulty, is that I don't see how we can provide the money. The increases we have already provided for are very liVoly to amount to .£.TOO.<)OO wr year. We can't, do impossibilities. Th" only vht we can find this moDpy is by exactii'S further taxes. There is a limit at which wp have to stop, and stop very firmly, a limit over wbich we can not go in regard to taxation. *