FRANK CRITICISM.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 31 July 1924, Page 5

FRANK CRITICISM.

SURPLUSES AND TAXATION. (By Telegraph.—Special to the Star.) WELLINGTON, July 30. Some , unusually frank criticism of the Budget came from the Government benches to-day when Mr. Rollestou (Timaru) condemned - the policy of caftying forward the accumulations of war-time surpluses and analysed the finances of the year, contending that if they had istood on their own feet £1,000,000 would have been paid from current revenue to the Public Works Fund, £375,000 for the purchase of Bank of New Zealand shares, £IOO,OOO advances for education loans, which would bring the real surplus down to £387,365. This was an answer to the suggestion that too much was being wrung from the taxpayer. “The whole amount of accumulated surpluses,” he continued, “should have been applied as in England to the reduction of the war debt. If we had done that we should not have had 13Amillions to spend on soldiers' lands, the effect of which we have not yet recovered from, and there would hove been no land boom and consequent farmers’ troubles, because the land if it had been bought would have been bought not for cash but bonds, a sounder financial way of doing it. We should ; also have been without the loss of millions which we are prepared to make in connecton with soldier settlements. • It is no use crying over spilt milk, but I suggest .that even at the eleventh hour we should apply what, is left of the surpluses to loan reduction.”

Mr. Rolleston went on to say that the bigger the surplus the greater the excuse for increased expenditure or decreased taxation. He maintained, on broad grounds, that no reduction of taxation was justified this year, and it was not justified last year, but remissions were made, and lie gravely feared that in future the Finance Minister would need to increase taxation to make no his revenue. He would make no objection to readjustments of taxation by customs concessions, but it would be advisable to keep up the total of gross revenue by increasing direct taxation.