AUCTIONEERS’ LICENSE FEES

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 264, 3 August 1929, Page 7

AUCTIONEERS’ LICENSE FEES

METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION. Masterton. August 2. Agreeing that, the present method of distributing auctioneers’ license fees was inequitable, members of the Wairarapa Progress League decided this afternoon to ask the various local bodies represented on the league to authorise their representatives to confer at the next league meeting, with a view of finally settling the matter. Mr. R. Judd said that he considered a farm was u place of an auctioneer’s business, and that there was three times the amount of stock sold on farms than in towns. The present method of allocation was obviously unfair, said Mr. W. F. Martin. He would like to know why the Masterton County Council took all the fees. Mr. J. W. A. Fallon: They don’t. The chairman (Mr. D. McGregor) stated that the only way to overcome the difficulty was to amend the present legislation, but Mr. Jordan stated that he had been informed that if local bodies agreed among themselves there would be no difficulty in carrying that agreement out Mr. Fallon said that it was his opinion, and that of his council, that the Progress League should have had nothing to do with the matter. The Masterton County Council, it had been said, Had misrepresented the position, but that was not so. After further discussion several members put forward resolutions to overcome the difficulty, one being that a move be made to have the legislation put on a more equitable basis. Another was that fees be allocated in the same manner as heavy traffic fees, while another suggested that local bodies should agree to the league distributing fees as they thought fair, after which the permission of the Minister to put this into operation could be obtained. Eventually, however, it was decided to call a conference as mentioned.