TAXATION BURDEN

Evening Star, Issue 18044, 11 August 1922, Page 3

TAXATION BURDEN

PLANS FOR REDUCTION.

ARREARS £BOO,OOO

[From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] ® WELLINGTON, August 10.

“ Land tax arrears amount to £300,000,” stated tile Prime Minister, when moving the second reading of the Land Tax Bill to-night. He added that income tax arrears totalled £600,000, biu. in both cases they did not completely relate to, last year, and the department expected ultimately to collect the whole amount. These arrears showed, however, that taxpayers.had difficulty in paying the taxation, and it' ho had the money to carry on the government of the country he would make reductions. The Land Tax Bill did provide a reduction of the supertax from 33 3 per cent, to 20 per cent., with the ultimate object of removing it altogether, and this concession meant from £150,000 to £160,000. There would be no rebate for prompt payment. The Prime Minister quoted the Taxation Committee’s reference to heavy taxation being a handicap to farming and business development, and declared' that 90 per cent, of the farmers last year made no profit. Therefore they had to pay their land tax from capital. “I don’t believe we can get over depression,” he said, “ until we get back to pre-war rates of taxation.” Mr Mold: Revise the valuations.

Mr Massey replied that while there were complaints of high valuations there were also complaints that the counties were too low in valuation. The Government had made an amendment two yeais ago which helped the small man on the land with his land tax. It extended the limit of exemption in respect to mortgages to £6,000, which disappeared at £B,OOO. This apparently small clause meant a reduction of over £IOO,OOO, benefiting 10,100 taxpayers. Sir Massey added that ho did not wish to go into the whole position, as the amending Tax Bill would be introduced in about six weeks. Ho wished to wait until he saw what the finances would be like before he said what reduction might bo possible in income tax. The payment of both land and income tax by farmers was an anomaly, as the Taxation Committee had pointed out. Prior to the wax farmers paid land tax only, _ and (concluded Mr (Massey) that was quite enough.