PARLIAMENTARY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2000, 2 October 1907, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY.

Press Association. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. The Council met at 2.30 p.m. GENERAL BUSINESS. Tlio Dunedin Suburban Gas Company Empowering Bill was passed. Mr. Sinclair moved tlio second reaping of the Otalci and Ponrua Empowering Bid. —Agreed i<>. Tho -Marine Insurance -oil, adopting the. recent English Act, was committed and put through its nnal stages mm mended. . . Oho Methylated Spirits Bi 1 was committed, and passed its final stage., _ without amendment. KIKE BRIGADES. The Auoriioy-Geneial moved tlio second reading of the Firo Brigades Act Amendment Bill, which, he explained, was necessary to make the Act of hist year effective. 1 Ills Bill was what might be called a patching up measure m order to: make tlio scheme contained in the original Act workable. Explaining the various clauses of the Bill, ho pointed out that provision was made limiting new lire districts to such places as contained a pojiulation of (at least) 0000, as it would ho impossible to permit every village to bccorno a fire district. Jhc most contentious clause would doubtless bo that which provided for tlio appropriation of contributions to Boards. The amount the Government, proposed to pay to the Boards in Dunedin, Christchurch, and Auckland was £250 a year each, hut Wellington , on account of the Parliamentary apd Government Buildings, would receive at additional £IOO a year. On this basis the Government would be paying more than Id per £1 on the annual value in tho four centres, though ho did not know why the Government should be asked to contribute a substantial sum. Tho burN*ii was really a voluntary one. ihe i-lause giving power to borrow remelied an omission in the original Act which gave no such power to Boards. As regards the clause giving Boards jmver to exchange or sell land or other property vested in them for fire irevention purposes, ho thought it uillieiently safeguarded the communtv. despite condemnation by the ure'sF. The Insjiector of Fire Brigades 'was required to inspect every brigade ■nice a year, and the brigade to be under tho control of the Board an ( all plant vested in the Board. The land and buildings used for public fire prevention purposes in any fire district at the date of the constitution of that district were to be transferred by the local authority owning the same to tho Board, the value to be decided either by agreement or arbitration under the Arbitration -wet. The Bill repeals section 12 or the principal Act, and provided that the amounts contributed should be payable quarterly in advance. The debate was adjourned on the motion or Mr. George. „ The Council rose at 3.50 p.m.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The House met at 2.30 p.m. PUBLIC SERVANTS AND POLITICS Notice was given by Mr. Barclay to introduce a Public Service Reform Bill, with the object of repealing the regulation which prevent .public servants taking part in politics. TRAMWAYS BILL. Mr. McGowan introduced the Tramways Amendment Bill. LAND TAX BILL. The House went into committee on the Land and Income Assessment Bill. The Premier stated that he had looked into the point raised by Mr. Hanan, that there was a conflict between clauses 15 and 16, and was advised that the clauses as they stood were quite right, though there might be some overlapping. Referring to the conditions necessitating 15 per cent of the purchase money being paid before a seller was relieved of liability to pay graduated tax, the Premier said he would move a proviso to clause 16 enabling the Commissioner of Taxes to inquire into the bona fides of purchases where less than 15 per cent was paid, so that if he was satisfied that the purchase was bona fide and not an attempt to evade the tax lie could grant exemption. Ho added that this would grant an opportunity to the poor man desiring to take up land, and would meet cases of hardship which might exist. Ho urged that the proviso should take away all objections to the clause. Mr. Izard suggested that the clause should not be retrospective. The Premier said he was prepared to limit the operations of the clause to transactions during the past five years. Mr. Herries said all a man need do to evade the tax was to cut up his estate among his relatives, and produce a receipt for 15 per cent of the purchase money. By this means they would defeat the object of the Government in desiring to get settlers on the land. Mr. Alison said the Premier had not given any effective reasons why tile clause should be retrospective at all. He instanced the case of a man who purchased land from the Assets Board and had sold it since in sections to industrious working men oil payment of £5 or £lO deposit. By this means more people had been settled on the land than the Government had settled on the whole of the lauds in the Auckland province. In no case had any of the purchasers of these sections paid more than £25. Under this clause, he added, the original purchaser from the Assets Board would, for the purposes of this Bill, bo regarded as the owner of the lands, and would accordingly have to paygraduated land taxf The Premier reminded members that £28,000 had been lost in revenue during a short period. He reiterated the statement that the proviso to the clause would apply to protected bona fide settlers. Mr. Jas. Allen contended that the clause was against the transfer of land. Ho added that previous transfers were made under the existing law, and yet under the clause many would be compelled to pay graduated tax without any possibilitv of evaduig. He argued that the' operation of tno clause in l'egard to transfers that had already been made was distinctly unfair. He added that the clause would not tend to bring about the objects desired by tile Premier in his Bill. Mr. T. Mackenzie said the intention of the clause was to defeat dummy divisions of land, and he intended to support the clause with its proviso Mr. Field said as they would have to change the Commissioner of Taxes from time to time it would be a wise course to allow of appeals to a Supremo Court Judge The Premier expressed his inability to accept the suggestion, as it was the intention of the Bill to avoid litigation. Mr. Buddo said the question of sale was a difficult one. He urged that there was really no transfer without occupation. „ Rutherford could see no reason •or the clause, and if it was struck out altogether there were sufficient clauses in the Bill to meet its objects. Mr. Alison moved an amendment to tlie clause to confine the operations to transactions, taking place after the passing of the Act. The House adjourned at 5.30 p m rr. s:< ; turned at 7.30 p.m. Ihe Premier stated-that clause 15 protected the seller, and no alterai', 1 re< Juired to the' clause. He •uldcd that the clause did not apply tax° rC ” oil^~v graduated land

~ " f l \, Afasscy said his opinion was Unit it did apply to both ordinary and graduated tax, and consequently would apply ,to transactions that had taken place during the last five years I bus, unless the seller of tho land had obtained 15 per cent of the purchase money, he would be liable tor payment of these taxes. Mr. Hogg said the object of the clause was to prevent a very base practice that had been carried on by wealthy persons in ovading the land tax. ilio amount of lo per cent to his mind was too little, and ho urged that it would be better if the amount had been 25 per cent, Mr. Rutherford considered tho

clause a most iniquitous and unjust : one It was iar-reaching, and ho questioned if any member ill tho House fully understood it. Mr Dillon referred to tho landowners in Hawke’s Bay, who looked „„ , n Parliament as a chess board, ,|;,i tlmir h.st to checkmate every i<’-isi - live -rt attempted. “Skunks, 1 eali them,” he said. He knew of people there who had £200,000 worth ol land. If there were no loop-holes the Bill .so much tlio better. lie l.ojK-i the Govorninent would stick fast to tho Bill. Mr Major said the new clauso largely mitigated the retrospective iconh' ! ion. Would it not, however, ii “better to let those people who had |,,.,.n "uiltv of evasion to go scot free than "o perpetuate the principle of retrospective legislation r hi Jus opinion it would not matter. Ho objected to retrospective legislation lie agreed with the main points of the BUI, hut was inclined to vote against the whole thing on account ot this clause. . Mr. Alison resented any interpretation that, he was a representative of large laud-owners. Ii anyone said ho was he would deny it in a way that would prevent them repeating it. oo protested against retrospective legislation. Why should those who had done no wrong by partitioning their , estates he unjustly penalised. Tho Premier remarked tnat> tno whole of tho evasion had taken placo during the last few years. lie added that unless the proposal was carried something much more stringent would have to be proposed in time to come. As a general principle he was against retrospective legislation, but there were exceptions, and this was >■ one of them. . , c Mr. Rutherford was m favor or cutting up properties. He had dono so himself among members of his family, and ho contended that tho Government was in pocket over the transaction. It was, lie said, only common prudence on liis-part to retain a mortgage over the property he had made over. . Mr. W. Fraser said the only logical conclusion from the Premier’s remarks was that every person who during the last 12 years had sold property worth over ££>ooo was a rogue and a vagabond who had endeavored to defraud tho State of its just dues. The Premier said lie had not stigmatised such as rogues and vagabonds. He was only referring to properties oil whicii the Department knew there had been evasion. Every property in the return laid before the House covered property that the Tax Department knew had been cut up for evasive purposes. Ho did not believe in retrospective legislation •renerallv, but there were exceptions, i'hc La lid for Settlements Act was a case in point. In that Act retrospective legislation had been admitted. On a division the amendment was rejected by 41 votes to 18. Mr. Massey then moved au amendment to strike out the Id per cent, proviso with the object of inserting a lesser figure. . Tho amendment was negatived by. 42 to 16. , . Tlie Premier then moved a proviso that the Commissioner of Taxes - ho empowered to accept, as apart from the provisions of tho Bill, eases in. which a sale had been made on a basis of less than Id per cent, where the Commissioner of Taxes was satisfied that they did not constitute an evasion of tho graduated land tax. This was agreed to on the voices. •Sub-section 31. providing that the tax pavablo by the buyer may be deducted from the amount payable by the seller, was agreed to on the voices.

The Premier moved a sub-clause to provide that the clause shall not apply to any transactions made before the five years previous to the coming into operation of the Act or to cases of people owning land of a value of more than £40,000. This was agreed to without debateh_,^ The Premier moved a new clause to provide that returns of land and income shall be made annually, and shall contain for each year full anSr eoinplete statements (a) of all land owned by tlie taxpayer at noon ouche 31st day of March immediately preceding the year in and for which :lie tax is to be charged ; (b) of all income derived or received by the. taxpayer during the year eliding 316 t March immediately preceding that in and for which the tax is to be charged, provided that where such return cannot be conveniently made die Commissioner in his discretion may for tlie purpose of. assessment accept a return made up to the date of tlie annual balance of the taxpayer's books, or lie may accept an -•stimated return which shall bo adjusted oil completion of such balance, (c) of all other matters on

•vliicli information is required by the Commissioner for the purpose of assessing land tax and income tax payable by tlie taxpayer. Tho Premier, replying to several members’ questions, said Jie understood if chero was no change to be made the taxpayer would mark “No change” on liis return of tho previous year. Such a system would obviate a great deal of troubio on the part of both he taxpayer and the Department. The clause was agreed to on the voices. Another clause to exempt church properties from payment of graduated land tax was agreed to on the voices. Another clauso providing procedure to enforce registration of mortgages was agreed to oil the voices. By consent of the Committee clause -2' relating to land tax in respect of minerals, timber, and flax, was, on tlie motion of the Premier, reconsidered, and tlie following proviso was moved: “In assessing under the prolusions of this section the income derived by any taxpayer from the removal of flax or timber- from any land, there shall be deducted a sum equal to 5 per centum of the amount m respect of • which tlie said taxpayer was last assessed for land tax by reason of the ownership or occupation of tho land used by him tor the production of such income.”