"EXTRA TAXATION"

Evening Post, Volume CXXXV, Issue 60, 12 March 1943, Page 4

"EXTRA TAXATION"

WAR DAMAGE PREMIUM

LABOUR MEMBER'S

CRITICISM

The War Damage Regulations, postal censorship, and the Scrimgeour case were the subjects of criticism by Mr. F. W. Schramm (Government, Auckland East) in the House of Representatives last j night. Mr. Schramm said he was a member of the Committee which dealt with the provisions of the War Damage Bill when it first came before the House. It was then agreed that the amount of premium per £100 would be 2s. Opposition members: Quite right. The Minister of Marketing (Mr. Barclay): That was before the Japanese came into the war. An Opposition member: How much have you paid out? Mr. Schramm said that six or seven weeks after the then Minister of Finance had stated in October, 1941, that the premium would be 2s the regulations went through fixing the premium at ss. Mr. Barclay: Japan came into the war in the meantime. A member: Japan came in on December 7. Another member: Blown right out. Mr. W. J. Broadfoot (National, Waitomo): His statement is like the eggs —bad. Mr. Schramm said that if they had been told the premium would be 5s the War Damage Act would not have gone through. Mr. J. A. Lee (Democratic Labour,; Grey Lynn): Hear, hear! The Prime Minister (Mr. Fraser) said that if the Government said the Bill would go through, it would go through. Mr. Broadfoot: Right or wrong. Mr. Schramm: That's a pretty strong statement to make. Of course, the Prime Minister knows it was first stated the premium would be 18d per £100. The Prime Minister: I don't remember that. Mr. Schramm: I was on the Committee. You put me on. It is grossly unfair to say it would have gone through no matter what the premium was. We looked upon it as a piece of extra taxation. OPENINGS OF LETTERS. Turning to postal censorship, Mr. Schramm said there were rumours going round that letters to private individuals were being opened and there did not appear to be any apparent reason for it. He did not know whether the rumours contained any truth. Mr. F. W. Doidge (National, Tauranga): Sounds like a Gestapo. Mr. Schramm: If it is so, it should be instantly stopped. The Prime Minister: I have had any amount of letters opened. "I come to the Scrim case," said Mr. Schramm. His sympathies were en- | tirely on the side of Mr. Scrimgeour, Ihe said. He felt that he was not getting a fair deal and that the appeal tribunal was being used to get rid of him. One thing that stood out in Mr. Schramm's mind was the action of the Crown representative who crossexamined Mr. Scrimgeour on his private affairs and political opinions. The sooner the Department got rid of their representative the better. It was unjust and unfair of the man to take advantage of his position as Crown representative to try to railroad a man on account of politics. It did not matter whether Mr. Scrimgeour was a Communist or not. He could have replied that Stalin and Maisky and the Red Army were Communists. Mr. Schramm said he had nothing against the Minister of Broadcasting personally, but he believed that such an important portfolio should be held by a member of the House and not by a man in another place.