Primage Duty.

Hastings Standard, Volume XIII, Issue 4309, 12 November 1909, Page 5

Primage Duty.

Auckland, November 12. A meeting of wholesale merchants protested against the primage duty and recommended a duty of ?d per t :aur,d on tea. ;» Dunedin, November 12 A meeting oflocal merchants protested strongly against the form in v hich the Government proposes to collect pprndg* duty. The difficulty of computing the tax, together with getting the necessary information from the Customs Department, .in addition to the trouble caused to the Customs officers, is considered altogether disproportionate to the sum to be raised. The meeting suggested that if a more simple means of raising this revenue cannot be adopted primage duty should be levied on all dutiable goods as imported, and not on goods in bond. Merchants make the suggestion that the amount required would be simply collected by the imposition of a temporary duty of an eighth of a penny on sugar.