NO EXTRA TAXATION

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 February 1940, Page 9

NO EXTRA TAXATION

MR NASH’S STATEMENT.

[PER PEESS association.]

WELLINGTON, February 11.

Speaking in an interview of the Government’s negotiations ; with ; Britain lor the sale of primary produce, the Minister for Marketing (Mr Nash.) said that they were practically completed, but might be extended at any time desired by the United Kingdom Government.

Mr Nash said' that a summary of tho; whole position would be announced this week, but from the date the new purchase procedure was started until January 22, the sum debited to the United Kingdom Government on account of purchases from the Dominion Government was £12,459,000. Mr Nash arrived' last night, from a short tour of the north after the Waitangi celebrations. He answered a number of questions about the effect cf Government actions taken because of New Zealand’s participation in the Empire war effort. He said that. no extra taxes were contemplated by the Government fox’ the present financial year, and added that the Budget for the next financial yeax- was not completed. He was asked to what extent the petrol rationing would offset the revenue expected from the extra fourpence in tax imposed in the last Budget as a defence tax. He said that 30 pei’ cent, was the estimated percentage of the curtailment in the use of petrol, but the sum of this percentage at 4d a gallon was not yet known.

He was also asked whether the prohibition of the import of American motor-cars and the limitation of English models to a small percentage of last year’s figures would cause unemployment in the Hutt motor assembly plants.

Mr Nash said that if the Dominion imported parts for only 30 per cent, of the cars previously imported it was unlikely that the same number of men would be employed, but there should be alternative employment available.

In reply to a question whetliex- the Social Security Act’s provision for the beginning of universal superannuation on April 1 would be effective in view of the extra expenditure entailed by wax’ measures, Mx’ Nash said that any interference with the Social Security Act had not been considered. The estimated cost of universal superannuation during the next year was not yet available. Mr Nash was also asked whether ho wished to make any reply to a statement from Mi’ W. W. Mulholland, Dominion president of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, that the Minister had broken a definite promise by introducing State purchase of hides. Mr Mulholland had said that Mr Nash promised that anything not re quisitioned by Great Britain would be left a. free market. Mi’ Nash said he intended to make a full reply to Mr Mulholland later in tho week.