EXCHANGE BURDEN

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 32, 7 August 1934, Page 12

EXCHANGE BURDEN

IMPORTS FROM BRITAIN

A concrete illustration of how high exchange acts on imports from Great Britain is furnished in a recent tender received for materials for a large new building in New Zealand. Tho nature of the article to be imported is beside the point, but this.much may be said, that it migat be possible to obtain it or similar material, from Australia in most advantageous competition with Great Britain as to exchange and freight. The, free-on-board value of one of the articles required to be shipped from Great Britain was £2536. By the time it had borne 10 per cent, extra in accordance with Customs requirements the original cost had grown to £2789; exchange and bank charges at 26% per cent, on £2536 brought the cost up by £745; duty added £607 more, and after the article had paid sales tax its original free-on-board value of £2536 had swollen to £523p, or over £200 more than double the original cost at port of 'shipment. ' . Yet another tender, also for British manufctures, was of the free-on-board value of £1141. Exchange and bank charges added £348; duty £314; and sales tax brought these goods of an original free-on-board value of £1141 tip to £2353. Sales tax is levied on the value of tho goods, plus their increase in cost by addition of the Customs of 10 per cent, added value, exchange, and duty.