THE AMUSEMENT TAX

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 32, 1 November 1917, Page 6

THE AMUSEMENT TAX

COMES INTO FORCE TO-DAY

HOW IT WILL BE COLLECTED

■ Mr. P. C. Corliss, tiic Commissioner of Stamps, u. l»;o v-iiicay who hau been apEOinted ti> «.-<i!voi tito tclifction of tlio ,amuseu.'t&: ia, whith will operate from ; to-day cn.iVh:.v:>. As it is somo tiino since [llm tax ■«-.» sxpiainad, it nifty bo as well if till' ysuiic luiiiu were freshened ad to the ,'ioidfcric-f: oi iic new tax, which shouK, jf tfioiioimeauj , collected, result in a ijouu desi of revenue for tlie Uovenuiiui!;. I'ho new tax, chargeable in tlis* ei* oi nil ciassw of entertainments ai-iaiig&i I'o" jjain, will be as follows:— lid., but not exceeding 2s. tjd., Id.; i'itofiliiij; 3s. Oil., but not exceeding 55., '\; ; excotdm? ds., but not exceeding 7=. (£.. :,ii.j exceeding 7s. 6t1., but not exce«li"g Vis. 6d., (id.; exceeding 12s. 6d., Is. iorju-dt jto. fid., aud Iβ. for every 10s. or iW'.l oi' 105. over 12s. lid. • . , . Imufcr the new law no person is to be admitted for payment to any Centertainuiujil where the payment m subject to n?iu!.6aient tax except (a) with a ticket f.U;apcd with a etamp (not used befoit>j deautiiig tnut the proper amuseineuia loi has been paid; or (b) in spoiciii u&ses, with the approval of Jhe Coi'imuoioner, ihiougii u liaxrier or door wita uii nutomatio registering contrivance, waich will correctly register tho iiumber of people who pass through. 'i'liß vjy btip.U not ho charged in cases whero \-<! pwformances are givun for philacUiJ-ypic, choritablb, or patriotic purpose in which cases the whole takfnge «io to be devote;! to one or more o7 tc.e above-mentioned objects. Where thi) ihwinissionei' is satisfied that the tfticAb of the net proceeds of ira entertainment are to be devoted to charitable or philanthropic purposes, and that tlio whole of the expenses do not exceed 20 per cent, of the receipts, there shall be refunded to the promoter the amount of amusement tax paid in respect of the entertainment.

Ample pronieioti is made for the full inspection of p. propriewre or company's N»ks ut any time. So far an inspector has Lot been appointed, but the Commissioner (Mr. jCorliss) will act in Wellinstoii in tho meantime, and his deputies ('heads of the branch Stamp offices) vill act in other places until the ecliemo of collection is in smooth working order.

Mode of Collection. Interviewed yesterday, lir. Corliss said ho anticipated that there would bo little difficulties at first in the collection of the amusement tax from every show in the country, but with a staff that knew the ropes he thought that the work of collecting the tax would soon ran smoothly. At present he was handicapped a little owing to the depletion of his ordinary staff. He Tmd written to Australia for information as to the methods of collecting the tax over there, but owing- to (Jio strike and the stoppage of mails he had not received the exact information he would hare liked to have as a general guide. Suestioned as to what method of colion he favoured, Jlf. Corliss said that with ell regular touring companies of reputable status he would accept dup hcates of their weekly dockets as to the number of people who had paid for admission to each section of the theatre. The nightly dockets had only to be added together to get a weekly statement, and with that statement a cheque for the amount of tax it represented would be 'handed in. Of course, with the docket, die manager or treasurer would be asked to make a statutory declaration that the return was absolutely correct. As a check they had the right by jaw to inspect the books at any time, and their books would have to slow the number of people who paid' for admission to each part of the house at every performance given. There were- shows which used the metal <liscs-a very good system as far as keeping a tally on the people who paid for admission went. That system would be subject to sjiarp inspection, as would bo the caSe with all other systems. The New Zealand Picture Supplies controlled abotit -10 theatres in the Dominion, and complete statements were received from each of them every Monday On these statements, which the manager would be required to swear to as correct, the tax would be charged. The little shows that toured the small towns 'had given .the Commissioner some worry. He had overcome the difficulty, he thought, by making it absolutely compulsory fpr showmen to use tickets issued by the Department These tickets could be purchased in; the big centres and chief voracia tpwns by managements from the local Stamp Ofnco, Tnd if at the end of a tour the managewent and unused rolls ra Jaml they could be brought back Then to ensure that the small shows used hese *&,# snssr if * But that only applied to the small, ehownian- the big' m& ran their businesses S such a way that the payment of the tax would work in automatically with their system. They simply became the medium of collection.

Passing It On. The amusement tax is a tux on the amusement-low people, not on the mauagenients who are the proprietors ot coinwamee; therefore, it is only to be expected that in the majority of cases Iβ extra charge will be passed on to the nublic. The Fuller management has alCdy intimated its intention oi dome » rom to-day. That will make the stalls Mice of admission Is. Id., aud thai to Sβ dress orycle 2s Id. The Mo,. Conue Opera Company still has two nights to KO but the management will not charge the oitra nioney-at least, it has not inmated its intention of doing so, and seats have been booked "up to the ond o the season at b. each. The . look SSft, ~..T'i,"A - 3 4c oa it m«T be, however, that some Bhows, instead of chargmg he P«bho the odd pennies, will fix their tanft a little higher in certain respects, and just n»'the tax on their dockets in the usual toy lor example, some of the bur at Tactions might make their dress, circle and orchestral stalls price 6s. Gd instead of 65., and omit making the tax an individual matter One *««««*£ been known to say that 6s. Gd. to-day would not be .the return, 6s. was our ™,r« aco 'owng to the rise in Mies, freilts taxation, etc. People and some nanißemnts will ■ grnmblo at the new S& there are always hose who. HkJ ?he irascible Kirnr G«m« (■". ces' Jda"). would not be above eingingand they had the voice- • "Oh , don't the days seem sad and lone When all goes right, and nothing goes

TTrong. And isn't your life extremely Hat When there's nothing whatever to grumble at." _