TAXES FOR BENEFITS

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 48, 25 August 1945, Page 6

TAXES FOR BENEFITS

LABOUR'S POLICY

"The only policy measure known to the Opposition is taxation reduction," said Mr. P G. Connolly (Government, Dunedin West) in his Budget speech in the House of Representatives yesterday. "Taxation is based on ability to pay," he said. "If the people have the money why should they not be taxed to help those in their later life who had assisted others to accumulate wealth?" He would like to see the age.benefit raised to £3 a week so that everybody reaching 60 years would be in a position to enjoy his or her remaining years. He did not think that the 2s 6d a week national and social security taxes combined would be objected to if it were known that they were to be used to make the lives of the elderly people happy in their declining years. Mr. Connolly said there was nothing wrong with keeping taxation up to get rid of war loans as soon as possible. Why should posterity be asked to pay? Their aim should be to see that in, say, ten years' time the people would not be paying for the war just ended like they had to pay for the first world war. Unlike the National Party, the Government had a blueprint as far as future policy was concerned. An Opposition member: A pretty red one. Mr. Connolly said the Government's plan was to give full employment to the people, a higher standard of living, security from exploitation, and security against future wars. Mr. A. S. Sutherland (National, Hauraki) contended that all servicemen should be given a concession in tax when they returned to New Zealand. It was not fair, he said, to ask them to pay the debt for the war they had helped to win.