ON LAND AND INCOMES

Evening Post, Volume XCIV, Issue 40, 16 August 1917, Page 3

ON LAND AND INCOMES

GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS

EXPLAINED

CONCRETE EXAMPLES

A most important statqment on the subject of .'and and income tsx was made to the Houso of Representatives by the Minister of Finance (Sir Joseph Ward) yesterday afternoon. He laid on the table papers showing how the tax was levied and how it will bo levied in future. Some aspects of the taxation aro best exp]iiined by the following tables: — EFFECT ON INCOMES. Comparison between the ordinary income tax plus the special war tax proposed this year and the ordinary income tax plus the income tax under section 5 payable last year.

LAND TAX.

The tabled figures regarding the land tax- included the following: —

The tax at the above rates is increased by an additional 50 per cent, supertax.

FOR WAX PURPOSES.

After giving instances of some cases of the irregularity of the present taxation, Sir Joseph Ward said that under the oH system there were big gaps between the various stages of assessment. The proposed scheme would do away with those anomalies, and he gave instances showing how the amount of taxation would rise from, in one case, £13,926 to £26,986; in another case from £2274 to £4476; and another from £2879 to £6134.

Commenting on the figures, Sir Joseph Ward said the Government was asking for taxation for the payment of war charges. Everyone in the Dominion had, in some form or other, to do something. Under the Government's proposals very few would escape. Under the old proposals a large number of people had escaped, but the preaent proposals' were designed to bring every possible taxpayer under the operation of the system. In answer to an interjection, he said that they were all anxious to consider the interests of people with small farms; but those people had as much at stake, in proportion, as the owners of larger properties, and should be made to subscribe to the safekeeping of their properties. As to general taxation, Sir Joseph said he knew of more than one case where a taxpayer was paying over 15s in the £ under the combined land and income tax. Fortunately, New Zealand had not got the multi-millionaires that existed in America, but- it was a fact that .our financial requirements, in proportion to our population, were going up to over the £2,000,000 limit, by comparison. If the smaller farmer was eliminated, the people would have to make up their mind 3to an income tax of 5s in the £ and land tax of 15s in the £. It was no use dealing sentimentally with the subject. The Dominion had to provide a huge cum of money, and was bound to get it, if it was going to carry its share of tho war. In the middle of all this, the Government was assailed with questions of land policy from the party point of view. In his opinion, that was entirely wrong.

SEEING IT THROUGH. "We have to get through the war," he said. "When the war is over it may be different." He had indicated already that he hoped to get ten million pounds from the Post Office Savings Bank for war purposes before the end of the year. When the war was over, when New Zealand was making provision for the expense and repayment of the war loans, it must be in a strong financial position in London.

Assessable income. £ 500 800 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 7,000 10,000 20,000 50,000 LOO.OOO Present Bates : Tax payable , £ s. d. 11 13 4 31 5 0 49 11 8 ... 219 11 8 386 5 0 580 13 10 ... 1,228 6 8 ... 1,778 6 8 ... 3,611 13 4 ... 9,111 13 4 ... 18.278 6 8 Proposed Rates: Tax payable. £ s. d. 12 10 0 42 3 9 70 6 3 249 9 7 532 16 3 92G 6 3 2,557 10 0 3,682 10 0 7,432 10 0 18,682 10 0 37,432 10 0

'axable Amount. Tax. £ £ s. d. 1,000 ■ 4 3 4 2,000 8 11 10 3,000 13 5 7 4,000 18 .4 7 5,000 23 8 9 6 000 28 18 1 7,000 - 34 12 8 8,000 40 12 6 9,000 - 46 17 6 10,000 53 7 8 11,000 '. 60 3 1 12,000 67 3 9 13,000 ....- 74 9 7 14,000 82 0 7 15,000 89 16 TO 16,000 97 18 4 17,000 106 5 0 18.000 114 16 Hi 19,000 123 13 11 20,000 132 16 3 21,000 142 3 9 22,000 .' 151 16 5 23,000 161 14 4 24,000 171 17 6 25.000 182 5 ID 26J000 192 19 4 27,000 203 18 1 28,000 215 2 1 29.000 226 11 3 30,000 238 5 7 31,000 250 5 2 32,000 262 10 0 33,000 275 0 0 34,000 287 15 2 35,000 300 15 7 36,000 314 1 3 37,000 ." 327 12 1 38,000 341 8 1 39,000 - 355 9 4 40,000 ~ 369 15 10 50,000 - 527 6 ID 60,000 710 18 9 70.000 920 11 5 80.000 1156 5 0 90,000 - 1417 19 4 100,000 1705 14 7 110,000 2019 10 7 120.000 2359 7 6 130,000 .; 2725 5 2 140,000 3117 3 9 150,000 3535 3 1 160,000 3979 3 4 170,000 4449 4 4 180,000 4945 6 3 190,000 5467 8 11 193,000 ..5629 3 4