MORE RETRENCHMENT

Grey River Argus, 4 May 1932, Page 4

MORE RETRENCHMENT

And Wage Cuts WHERE WILL COALITION STOP? (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.; WELLINGTON, May 3. ‘ ‘ Where is the Government going to stop?” asked Mr Barnard in the House this evening, when commenting upon the statement of the Minister of Finance last week that a further de cline in revenue must be met next year by further economies in expenditure and increased taxation.

Mr Barnard agreed with the Minister that the income tax schedule was heavy in this country, but said it was not as heavy as it should be compared with the burden of wage and salary cuts and pensions adjustments. The Minister had said he expected that the income tax would yield £900,000 less than last year, and that a further decline in revenue would have to be met by economies and further taxation. Mr Barnard said this meant further wage cuts and more dismissals from the public service. ‘‘Now, I want to know where we are going . to stop?” he asked. “We may expect a reduced taxable income this year, and a still smaller income next year. Yet the Minister talks about further taxation and more economics. The position fills one with the deepest gloom. The Minister is not living I from day to day. I know the Government has not a comprehensive plan, but the Minister must have some kind of plan to work on, and I’d like an indication of what the Government intends in the future, and how far this' rising burden of taxation is to go.”