HIGH PETROL TAXES

Grey River Argus, 20 February 1932, Page 4

HIGH PETROL TAXES

NOT GOING ON ROADS Motorists’ Complaints (Per Press Association). THE CHATEAU. February 19. ‘'There are repeated rumours that the Main Highways Board funds will be receiving a bigger raid than previously, and it has even been suggested that a recommendation wiH come from the Treasury that the operations of the Board should be restricted to practically nothing, on account of the financial conditions, ” said Mr G. W. Hutchison, Auckland delegate, to the half-yearly meeting of the North Island Motor Union to-day. “During the year ended December 31. 1930, 68,209,672 gallons of petrol were imported into the Dominion,’’ said the report of the Secretary, adopted by the meeting. “In the year ended December 31, 1931, the imports had dropped to 61,844,702 gallons, which quantity was of a declared value of £1,343,306, equalling ,4.8 penee per gallon. The present tax and the surtax on petrol equal 8.4 penee per gallon. We therefore have the declared value 4.8 pence per gallon tax, and the surtax of 8.4 penee per gallon. That equals a tax of 175 per cent, on the declared value of the petrol, and one of over 200 per cent, on an ad valorem basis. A duty of 200 per eent. ad valorem is an extraordinarily high rate of duty. This is bad enough in itself. The situation becomes infinitely worse if examined in the light of what has happened to the road funds during the year ended December 31, 1931, and what appears likely to happen during the year ending December 31, 1932. If last year’s legislation is not modified, the petrol tax collected during the year ended December 31, 1931, excluding the surtax of £81,607, and the additional 2d per gallon imposed by the Supplementary Budget—which during the short period it was in force yielded £ll2.o92—amounted to £1,517,982, less rebates that were made through the post office of £132,700, less the cost of making the rebates £2.637. less the cost of collecting the tax retained by the Customs Department calculated at the rate of £1 3s 8d per cent., £17,190 —total £152,617; leaving the amount actually received by the Main Highways Board at £1,365,365. This £1,365,365 was subjected to the following deductions and board charges, hitherto carried by the Consolidated Fund to the extent of £591,000. The deduction and charges are: Annual grant from the consolidated funds, discontinued, £55,000; five per cent, interest on the free grant made in the past £61,000; subsidy to local authorities. which for the past 50 years has been charged on the Consolidated Fund, £220,000; twelve and a-half per cent, rebate on County and Road Board rates, £250,000; now taken for baekbloek roads, £50,000; total £616,000 —leaving for the Main Highway Board £749,345. The position that has arisen from last year’s legislation is one that must give motorists grave cause for concern. The £749.000 equals 2.9 pence per gallon when divided by the number of gallons of petrol imported, so that the roads fund is now worse off by more than one penny per gallon than it was when the petrol tax was only 4d per gallon.