LETTERS TO EDITOR

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 120, 6 February 1923, Page 8

LETTERS TO EDITOR

OUR EXPORT STATISTICS Sir, —The export statistics just published for 1922, as compared with 1121, are interesting, but may be misleading, if not analysed, as wool already paid for under the commandeer is included in the figures for 1922, both in quantity and value, and as these statistics are used as a guide to Dominion income for the period embraced by them, this excess must be eliminated to. enable monetary comparisons to lie made with 1921, as the money has been spent years ago. Tho wool figures as given by the statistician for 1922 and 1921 are:—■ Bales Value, shipped. £ ] co-2 914,094 11,882,553 1921 452.231 5,221,479 Difference 1 161,863 £6,661.074 thus showing that the figures for 1922 do embrace just about two clips as against one for 1921. Tho statistician’s grand totals for tho two years separately compare a« follow:—For 1921, £40,840,323; for 1922, £39,067,593; and if wc deduct excess for double clip as above, say, £6.661,074. it leaves £32,406,519.' His figures thus show a shortage in value of £8.433,SO4 for 1922 as compared with 1921. If this shortage, is dissected the deficiencies in income for 1922 will . be found as under:— Frozen meat totals 2,777,805 Butter figures 2,127,976 Cheese figures 3,512,333 Sheepskins, tallow, hides, rabbits and sausage skins 31,626 £8,449,740 This represents a shortage in'farming income for 1922 as compared with 19‘’1 of ncarlv 8| millions, and the small surplus'in the aggregates- of kauri gum, timber, gold. and. hemp, or £l5 936, gives tho total deficiency of £8,433.804. Exports other than farm products in the aggregate compare with farming exports as under for 1922:— Kauri gum, £563,270; timber, £4,9,694- gold. £540,182; New Zealand hemp £215,080. Value of farming exports. £30,608,293; total, £32,406,519. 3)his o-ives the reduced total as above 0f£32.406,519, being the aggregate value of exports proper for 1922. I should mention that the value or the sausage skins shipped in 1922 is given at £467,981, and a® I understand this is a “perk” of the freezing companies, the chairman of the -Meat Board might make a mental note. I would also remark that the value of this same offal very nearly approaches "that given above of kauri gum, timber, gold, and very nearly treble that, of New Zealand hemp, and that exports other than farming produce represent less than 6 per cent, of those provided by the farming interests I regret these results, and attribute the greater part of the blame to tho Food Controller at Home, who his cbmmandeer surplus of butter upon the market in one lino of tens of thousands of tons in the early part of last season, when prices stood at IS. per cwt., and sold the whole to speculators at 110'., who must have reaped a rich reward- . As for the frozen meat surplus, heaven only knows the price at which it was sold. All we know is toat fat lamb dropped suddenly from 10d. per lb. to sd. on the hoof, and butterfat from 2s. per lb. to 9d., oi 4 3 d. pe gallon for milk, with the lamentable results shown above. Mv sympathies are entirely with tie farmer.’ who ought, to combine and look after himself—l am, etc., NSUSI. MILNE.

DEBENTURE TAX Sir,—At the. present time, when taxation is pressing upon all sections of the community, it behoves anyone who discovers an inequality in its incidence to draw the public’s attention to it, with tlte hope that the Munster of F.nance will notice it. As you are aware, the debenture tax is 2s. bd. in the £1 on all local body debentures and 3s. in the £1 on all those issued by companies, the onus being upon the local body or company, respectively, to deduct this tax and . pay it to the Ticasurv when paying its interest upon the. debentures it has issued. Therefore. the investor in New Zealand who invests, sav, £l.OO in a local body loan issued at per cent., only receives a net return of £4 16s. 3d. per cent. This is not very enticing to the investor of small means who desires to invest his savings in a local body security, because he rightly believes it to be safe and gilt-edged. Luder the law, as it stands at present, this tax is not levied where the money is raised outside the Dominion, rightly, because the investor m England or Australia would then probably have to pav double taxation, but it Leaves it open for companies operating in New Zealand, who have their head offices or nominal head offices abroad, to manipulate their finances, so that in the event of their desiring to seeK the advantage of these gilt-edged 11)vestments, they may reap the full aovantago of the interest earned free ot any New Zealand taxation, by arranging the loan to the local body locally through their New Zealand offices, while making the loan and interest pavable abroad free of exchange. One wealthy institution, at least, operating largely in New Zealand, is at- the present time actively following this course, as its head office, in Australia is seeking these, investments and is consequently lending freely to local bodies at 5J percent., thus cutting out New Zealand investors who are under the disadvantage of having to pav the tax of 13s. 9d. out of , every £b IDs. they receive by way of interest. The company may have earned these surplus funds for investment in New Zealand, and by transferring them to, Australia, it is able to reinvest them at a great advantage as against, the investor who earns and retains his money in the Dominion. Surely, at the. present time, and, indeed, at any time, as this is a rapidly developing country, it is good policy to entice gcnu-inclj foreign capital into tne country to assist its development, but not tU drive it out of the country to be again reinvested in it with the object of cheating the revenue. . There are a* large class of investors in the Dominion, with smalt incomes, seeking investments for their savings at a reasonably remunerative rate, but on absolutely' safe security, yet they arc being driven to invest in stocks which cither yield them a bare pittance or else have elements of risk which they desire to avoid in their old age. The soldiers’ wan (1933) was popular among these investors, as it, yielded them 5.) per cent., but now the same thing is occurring, and large portions of this loan are being transferred to Australia., as the holders there can dodge, both the New Zealand and Commonwealth taxation and obtain the net. 5J per cent., with the result that W& seo tin’s stock gradually reaching a price, which is unremunerative to the investors in the Dominion. Is this fair to the public?—l am, etc., COMAION SENSE. February 1, 1923.