"AS NEARLY AS POSSIBLE"

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 226, 18 June 1920, Page 7

"AS NEARLY AS POSSIBLE"

(To the Editor.) , Sir,—Your leading article of this morning is clearly an evasion of fundamentals, but as it may uass as a satisfactory answer to the attitude adopted by my organisation, I would bo glad of space to comment on it Take for a start your statement that unimproved, land values should not he taxed, because, when tho prices 'of -nrimary products fall, tho unimproved values will fall. Experience has not shown that this in correct, and for praaf I refer you to the tables on tho subject appearing in the -'Official Year Book." Thoso tables show a series ot uninterrupted advances in unimproved values, although during the period covered many periods of- comparative depression. But oven suppoß-' ine your forecast of what would rosult from a fall •in prices bo correct, haß that ever led you to chastise, editorially or otherwise, the' fixed habit of tho owners (by title deed) of tho unimproved values to exact a rent on tho value—you now assert is fictitious—or to charge a full price when' lie sella Ills holding? The fact that lie will have to pay' tho hither value should he seek to buy in again iB only proof of this, and not a reason why the unimproved value Bhould not become a taxablo proposition. Is not a seller or holder of land getting something from tho community which ho did not pay for? And does not this unearned increment 'enable him to maintain liia pre-war standard of comfort, and something over besides? Why then should the Public Servant who asks to merely get back where he wa? in 1914 in this roßpect have tho finger of criticism pointed at him, when tho greater offender escapes scot free? Thon you refer to each citizen carrying his Bhare of .{.ho burden of tho war. Well, I for one would be glad to escape with a per capita charge on mynolf and household for my share of the annual charges occasioned by the .war. if it would get mo back to pre-war' prices for tho necessities my household requires. When you refer to this matter you seem to forget that the man who wont to tho war has. on his return, to turn to .and pay off tlio man'who got '< fat ~ prices durinu tho war, and lent the money to. the State to purchase war munitions with. Not only has tho returned man to. do this, but tho dopendantß of the man who did not return have to do likewise. These are tho people -.vho havo borne or. are bearing the burdon of tho war. to chargo (oven by iuferonce) the Public Servant, with at-

tempting to dishonestly evade his fair share of the war burden is a flagrant injustice. and one that I am ;.urprised your journal giving expression to. Oa whom does taxation foil? Mainly on thoso people (married in particular) who aro no placed that they cannot "pass it on." Public Servants" are in this position, and. very bitterly they realise it. Not only,' do they have to pay their share of in. direot taxat'on, but they-also have to pay their share of tho profit on the transaction exacted by tho wholesaler and the. retailer before the taxed article "reaches thorn. Direct taxation ia.'passed on in muoh the same inequitable way; but perhaps not to the same unpleasant degree It ia a well-known fact that the traders of the community, companies or-individu-als, draw their income tax froni'tlieir cus-

tomers, (with a, margin in case of contingencies) before thoy 'send the Tax Department their cheques. (There was a notable meeting of tho Wellington Gas Company which rubbed this truth well in.) If your journal set about, discovering methods whioh will prevent the nominal taxpayer from profiteering by the tranaaction you will bo helping to reduce the cost of living problem in a very practical way. In the meantime, I would like this fact to be carefully noted. No move is being made, worthy of-tho name, to reduce the cost of living or to ease the burden placed on tho man who cannot "pasj it on." This being so, you have no right to castigate Public Servants (or any other similar cl(i83) for endeavouring to secure, relfef in the only way • open to them, via.; by nn incrca-se in salary or wages. He has a perfect right to endeavour to restore tfte standard of comfort that his fatally enjoyed in pre-war day*. Please get down to an'd settle fundamentals, Mr. Editor. In doing so, I teel euro you will find ample use for your pen in castigating thoie who aro ueins the economic situation to levy prlvato taxation on the community, or those who hold the power to stop Ihom doing so, and fall*to use it Bjr the time you havo succeeded in bringing them to heel I feel sure- you will find that the I'ublio Serrant and thoso who aro noting as the Public Servant Is doing, will have had tholr cconomio position restored, and tno present agitation thus automatically ended.—l am. eto„ H E. COMBS. Secretary. i Wellington, .Tune 16, 1920. : [No doubt Mr. Combs < will meet with quito a lot of approval for his denuncia-. ' tion of this attitude of the profiteer and : of tho wilted taxpayer who "passes it ; on," but what have these things to do with tho merits of the claims of tie Postand Telegraph oionT • Moreover, why does 1 be profess to believe that we stated thero i should be no taxation of the unimproved ; valuo of. land, or that wa attempted to ca»tfgatß tbe officers of tho Post and ' - i Telegraph Department for'bringing forward their demandß? Wa, of courso, did \ nothing rA the kind. On tho contrary, wo expressed our sympathy with the rea- ■ eonable demands of all Public Servants : for a readlustmont of salaries to meet ! the ohanged conditions. Possibly Mr.* Oombs's idea of "castlgation" is the fol- : lowing extract from the article he com-, i plains of: "Wage and salary earners havo i every right to ask that- pre-war stan- ' dards shall be maintained 'as nearly as possible'—that is t-o say, with due regard j to tho national burdens imposed by tho ; war. No reasonable person will for a ] momont deny that Public Servants havo' I as good a right to an adjustment in these 1 terms as any othor section of tho comman- ! 'ity. It is .a matter of ordinary justice, i also, t« rMognlso that the Post and Tele- i graph officers and other members of i tho Publfc Service now pressing for in- j creased payment havo ueon hard hit by : tho widespread inflation, of wagcß ana prices during the war period, and that in their present somewhat balligoront attitude. ! tliey are simply following the lead of or-' ■ ganißod Labour throughout ...tho .Do- j minion."!?..'.!-!.. ;«■;! • of ' .twrJS