N.Z. TAXATION

Grey River Argus, 3 May 1932, Page 5

N.Z. TAXATION

UNFAIR POLICY Holland’s Analysis (Per Press Association). WELLINGTON, May 2. Speaking at Lower Hutt this morning, Mr 11. E. Holland, Leader of the Opposition, attacked the Governments interest pronouncement in connection with its taxation policy. When, he said, salary and wage reductions ani th© flat rate wages tax were protested against, the working men were told that the taxpayers with high incomes would have to contribute their quota towards meeting the national liabilities. Later, the Minister of Finance intimated that, in order to keep *tn» deficit in the current year down to £2-,000,000, he would have to save over £4,000,000 in expenditure, and io raise over in additional taxation. Now, it was announced that £2,300,000 was to bo borrowed from the banks on the security of the re servo locked up in the soldier settlement lands, and no further taxes were to be imposed this year. The Labour Party had repeatedly protested that th© country could not continue to im I crease taxation without strengthening J the source from which taxes were drawn. They had always been oppos pd to the Government’s policy of burning the candle at both ends, by reducing the incomes of the people and increasing the taxes on what remained: but the Government was now giving the wealthier taxpayers immunity from further taxation. The new loan from the banks was solely for this purpose, and not to facilitate production or to reduce the existing debt. It. meant blowing out the candle the wrong end. The interest on tho new loan would be an additional charge on the Consolidated Fund, an-.t m a year’s time, they would possibly find the Government tolling them that, in order to balance the budget, further salary and wage reductions would hav ‘ Ito be made. The rank and file .of the I people would feel that they had beei. made tho victims of a political eon ■fidence trick in this connection. if taxes were to be imposed, they should fall, first, on the incomes of the wealthy For a number of years, however, (Labour had consistently argued that ’the way out of the difficulty, was no) by increasing taxation but by utilising the peoples credit. The hypothecation ’of the soldier settlement securities was the equivalent of a very modified use of the peoples credit, and in thif case it had been used for the relie l of the moneyed class that did not need relief. A "better way would be to utilise the whole of the public credit in a Dominion-wido effort, towards reconstruction and rehabitation.