State Takes Most

Greymouth Evening Star, 3 September 1949, Page 4

State Takes Most

New Zealand companies which paid slightly more than 33 per cent of their gross income in taxation before the war now find that more than 60 per cent, of their earnings goes into the coffers of the State. The increasing incidence of direct taxation is shown in the official estimates'of national income and expenditure which have been issued by the Census and Statistics Department. The effect of direct taxation on company incomes before, during and since the war is shown in the following table: — ’3B-39 ’44-45 ’47-48 ’4B-49 £ million

The figures for 1948-49 are provisional Other figures issued by the department show that the number of companies, including certain Government trading undertakings, with assessable incomes between £lOOO and £2OOO rose from 940 in 1938-39 to 1730 in 1946-47. The number with assessable incomes totalling less than £lOO rose from 1464 to 1475 in the same period and there were decreases m tne groups between £lOO and £4OO. The department says that 317 companies in 1938-39 had assessable incomes ranging from £lO,OOO to more £lOO,OOO, their combined assessable income being £13,863,000. In 1946-47 the number had risen to 795 and their assessable, income to £34,980,000.

Gross companyincome 19.9 38.2 53.7 50.0 Direct taxes .. 7.1 26.6 22.5 30.4 Income after tax 12.8 11.6 31.2 19.6