APPROPRIATION BILL ASSED

Evening Star, Issue 19352, 11 September 1926, Page 2

APPROPRIATION BILL ASSED

PROVISION FOR- SPECIM. B.K.Z. TAXATION GOIS6ESSIOK- TO LONG-TERM MORTGAGE DEPARTMENT [From Our Parliamentary Reporter] WELLINGTON, September 11. The Appropriation Bill, which was passed bv the House early to-day, contains authority to pay out of Education Loans Account' the ‘‘cost of the acquisition of land and buildings for the establishment of a college of Agriculture. The Government’s purchase of Bank of New Zealand long-term mortgage shares, as indicated in the bank’s legislation, is authorised, and the special taxation of the bank’s long term mortgage department, as separate from tho general banking business, is contained in another clause, which exempts the Mortgage Department’s income from banking income tax, and applies the rates of 4s 6d in the £ charged to ordinary companies The next clause states that if the Commissioner of Taxes is satisfied that any banking company carrying on business in New Zealand has established a long-term mortgage department on substantially the same terms as the Bank of New Zealand (both as to the method of providing capital and as to the nature and terms of the business of the department), he shall apply to the computation of the taxable income of such other banking company the special provisions of the last preceding section as to the computation of taxable income in New Zealand, save that the Governor-General may in any such case, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, increase to such amount as he thinks fit the proportion of onefourth of 1 per cent, of the average weekly amount of outstanding principal moneys owed, as a deduction from the gross income of the company derived 1 from its long-term mortgage department. Local authorities are authorised to expend money from their general fund for exhibiting at Toronto Exhibition. The salary of Sir Maui Pomare (Minister in Charge of the Cook Islands) is increased to £1,300 instead of £l,lOO, payable to him as a member of the Executive Council, representing the Native race When the Bill was introduced just before 2 a.m. Mr M'Combs took great exception to hurrying it through all stages at that hour of the morning, when the House had been sitting continuously since 10.30 the previous morning. Here was a Bill of twenty-four clauses, set out on twenty-seven closelyprinted pages, and the House was asked to vote on it in five minutes.

Mr M‘Combs said this rush legislation was becoming a scandal, and every newspaper in the country was drawing attention to the error of carrying on the country’s business in this hurried wav.

“ As for what the newspapers say,” observed Mr Nos worthy—“ well, who cares as long as wo are doing the right thing?” Ho further said that this Bill was always dealt with in this way, so it seemed that Mr M‘Combs must have previously been a party to the scandal. On tho second reading Mr M‘Combs again recorded his protest, regretting that it was useless, because the Government had a hug© and docilo majority which would vote for anything; but who ever heard of a business board of directors that would vota ±13,000,000 without knowing what they were voting for? The Hon. J. H. Young said that nineteen pages of the Bill had already been dealt with.

Mr Fraser also objected to rushing the Bill through in this .way. With the majority of the members present in a semi-comatoso state, the Bill went through committee without interruption, and was read a third time and passed at 2.35 a.m., when the House adjourned.