DUTIES ON FILMS

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 9, 5 October 1927, Page 10

DUTIES ON FILMS

OLD RATES RESTORED •. / - QUOTA SYSTEM PREFERRED BILL TO BE INTRODUCED Restoration of the old duties on films—British free and foreign one penny per lineal foot, instead of the proposed increase to threepence in the latter case—is provided for in the Customs Amendment Bill introduced into the House of Representatives by Governor=Generat’s Message last night. According to the Minis* ter of Customs the quota sys* tern, as a means of helping Brit, ish industry, is preferred, and a Bill dealing with that method will be brought down later in the session. . “The reason for the reversion,” said the Hon. W. D. Stewart, “is that a great many representations were received on the question as to whether the British could supply the number of films, and it was stated that the duty would not encourage the introduction of British films as well as the quota system that is now being tried out in Britain. It was decided that in view of the possibility that this threepence might be passed on to the public—we did not intend this to happen, as the tax was not proposed for revenue purposes, but to assist the. British industry—it would be a reasonable thing to hold over this, since a Bill dealing with the quota system will be introduced later in the session.”

Mr, P. Fraser (Wellington Central) : That is a very satisfactory method. “It has been shown,” added the Minister, “that the foreign film companies are trading in New Zealand on such terms that, although they export hundreds of thousands oi pounds a year, because of . their method of trading, no taxation is paid by them on their profits. In Australia the Government has tried to get at these profits by making an arbitrary assessment, but that provision is now being challenged in the High Courts, and I understand that the case is going . to. the Privy Council. The Australian people have a royal commission investigating the whole question of the film industry from one end to the other, and it seems to me that the report of that commission might prove very valuable to us in deciding what proportion they should contribute to the taxation of the country. If there is any question of the extra .charge being passed on it will have to be considered.” Mr. Wilford: Tn. the case of British films produced by an American company, afid shown here by an American company, is it still a British film?

The Minister: That T cannot say. The films here are charged on the footage, or length, but in Britain they are charged on the negative. I presume that if they are manufactured in Britain they would come under, the British Act, tind come in as British films.