CUSTOMS DUTIES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 11 September 1926, Page 15

CUSTOMS DUTIES.

THE RECENT INCREASE

HEAVIEST ON AMERICAN CARS,

The new tariff amendments will weigh hehvilv against American cars, tyres, bicycles and speedometers: The preferential duty of 10 per cent, remains unchanged and . British and Canadian cars will be subject to no increase under his head. The general tariff of 25 per cent, is increased to 35 per cent. The body tax has been amended to 10 per cent, up to £2OO, and 5 per cent, thereafter on British cars, and 15 per cent, up to £2OO, and 7(k per cent, thereafter on cars which do not come under the preferential tariff.

The former body tax was a flat rate of £lo' for a double-seater British body and £ls for a foreign body. Singleseater bodies were £5 and £7 10s respectively. Comparison of tbe Duties.

Although termed a “body tax” the duty is calculated on the value of the chasis and body together. The dutiable values aro the invoice-prices of the cars in the country of origin plus 10 per cent. The taxation of bodies on a percentage basis will result in an increase for even British and Canadian cars since the dutiable value of a double-seater car would have to be only £IOO to produce a £lO body tax. The obvious effect of the new tariff, therefore, will be to add from £5 to £lO to the price of many popular-priced English and Canadian rars. American cars in the same price-class are worse off by comparison than under the old duties since the medium-priced class will carry total duties equivalent to as much as 50 per cent, of the dutiable value, which will involve a price addition of £25 to £llO on cars selling in New Zealand in the £3OO to £4OO price-class. The relative effects of the duties may be illustrated by taking the cases of a British and an American ear, each having a dutiable value of £2OO. If an ordinary four or five-seater touring car at this price is considered, the duties compare as follow:

British or Canadian. Old Bate New Bate £ £ Duty at TO p.c. 20 20 Body tax .... 10 20 £3O or 15 p.e. £4O or 20 p.c. American. Old Bate. New Bate. £ £ Duty 50 70 Body tax 15 30 £OS or 324 p.c. £IOO or 50 p.c. The Bange of Importations. Over 94 per cent, of the American cars imported into New Zealand last year were complete with bodies. Of the 4729 American passenger cars imported for the first six months of this year, only 443 were without bodies. Passenger cars and chassis are being imported into New, Zealand at the rate of nearly 2000 a month. About- 46 per cent, of the cars are from Canada, America’s share is about 39 per cent., and Great Britain supplies 12 per cent. The combined imports from Italy, Prance and Belgium are only three per cent, of the total. •

The new tariff imposes a'duty, of 35 per cent, on foreign tyres and leaves the preferential rate of 10 per cent, standing. Less than one-quarter of New Zealand’s imports arc of American origin. Over half are Canadian, and tyres from'the United Kingdom comprise about one-seventh of the total value of the imports. The only other country contributing to any extent is France, which is represented by about one-fourteenth of the aggregate Italy, Belgium, and Germany account for the balance.