The Dominion TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 1929. THE EASY WAY

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 266, 6 August 1929, Page 8

The Dominion TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 1929. THE EASY WAY

Examining at leisure the Budget proposals of the Finance . . 8 he struck by the readiness with which Minister one cannot f«l to be y en rather than the the easy way out of difficulties nas s . j•< tbe WSCT* is to tax heavily thus secure more money to spend To cut down expenditure apparently is regarded as hopeless. *" taS He nation toZee, Sir Joseph Ward appears to have be™ Muenced by their probable effect or[ «>' ? his nartv with the general public. He assumed that the increase in l P• y j , im ? ner cent would escape criticism because the primage duty from 1 to 2j«cent. w~ P seem ta S a yeaS ?mdml i! mX someffing like i&.OOO (plus in many eases a percentage of profit) taken out of the’ the people. And this additional tax covers practically all imported articles which come under the broad heading, l j ‘ { In the present state of public feeling such an impost is tar from likely to escape serious criticism. More especially is this the case when account is taken of to lighten the burden of taxation. The Customs tariff, ne aeciar at Auckland “should be based on the reduction of the cost of living, and supplies not locally provided will be put on the free list.” Instead of reductions and free lists, we now have an increase which, though small, is widespread. . ' The fresh burdens placed on the farming community are likely to prove more serious to the country.. The reduction of the mortgage exemption and the imposition of a super-tax on farm lands above £12,500 in value means a class tax of a penal nature which may have far-reaching consequences. The Finance Minister presumably imagines that the landholders affected, being comparatively s™ l ! in numbers and the owners of valuable property, will meet with little sympathy. There may be something in this view, but it is both short-sighted and unjust. It is also unsound to imagine that the super-tax on all farm lands over £12,500 in value will have a beneficial effect in forcing owners to sell to the State for subdivisional anything about the matter would fail to recognise that many large holdings are unsuited for subdivision. These sheepruns can be worked more economically from the point ot view of the country, as well as of the owners, in large blocks than in small. They also act as centres of supply for the smaller farm holdings requiring breeding ewes for the raising of fat lambs. are a recognised and essential part of our farming economy. Yet the owners of these lands, unsuitable for subdivision, are to be subjected to penal taxation in order to get at a few large landowners who may have holdings suitable for subdivision. It is a clumsy and grossly unjust policy, and one which, as said, may have serious consequences. , • Any action of the nature now proposed by the Government, which does not take into account the quality as well as the total value of the land, must fail of its ultimate purpose and must do serious injustice. Land tax, too, is a fixed payment regardless of the earnings from the land. The landholder has to pay his land tax in good season or bad: whether there is profit or loss from the working. At the present time the outlook for many landholders is far from bright. The price of wool is not likely to show any increase, and if it remains stable most sheepowners will regard themselves as fortunate. On top of taxation, rating on farm lands has been climbing up until it has become a very real burden in many parts of the Dominion. Yet it is at this time that landholders are singled out for still heavier taxation. The idea that only the large landholders are going to be affected is fallacious. With the high values for land many quite moderatesized land holdings will be included; and where the land is heavily mortgaged and the owner is least able to bear the added drain on his resources the pinch will be heaviest. There is another aspect of the matter, too, which cannot be ignored. The new super-tax will cut down the margin of security in farm lands. The added taxation must reduce the net earning value of land, and money-lending institutions, and holders of farm mortgages will find it necessary to take this into account in protecting their loans. Thus the landholder will be further penalised. The burden of the Budget in the end will fall mainly on the man on the land.