EMPLOYMENT BILL

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 101, 9 April 1936, Page 7

EMPLOYMENT BILL

Abolition of Unemployment Board LEVY NOT TAX-FREE By Telegraph—Press Association. WELLINGTON, April 8. The abolition of the Unemployment Board and the establishment of an Employment Promotion Fund, to be administered by the Department of Labour, are the main features of the Employment Promotion Bill, which was introduced into the House of Representatives to-day. It is mainly a consolidating measure, but alterations are made in the system of taxation. The most important Is the deletion of the provision in the main Act which allowed sums paid as unemployment tax to be exempt from income tax. The Bill provides that unemployment tax shall be known in future as employment tax, consisting of a registration levy and an employment charge, both of which at present exist under different names. However, there is no contemplation of immediate alteration in the rates of taxation for these purposes, The administration of the Bill will be substantially along the lines followed by the Unemployment Board in its handling of the unemployment funds. The assessment, collection and recovery of employment tax are to be administered as if it was income tax. The necessity for registration of every male person over the age of 20 years, as under the original Act, is again stipulated. The quarterly levy and tax sin salary, wages and other income are maintained, with no specific reference to rate in the latter case, although the quarterly levy is still to be at the rate of 5/- a quarter. With regard to the payment of those taxes, the only new provisions are that people leaving New Zealand before a quarterly instalment is due shall not be held liable for the payment of that instalment, and that no instalments of the levy shall be due after the death of a taxpayer. Previously the levy was regarded as an annual charge and was charged against a deceased person’s estate for the balance of the year after death.

PENSIONERS AND MAORIS. As under the original Act, pensioners and Maoris are exempt from payment cf the registration levy. Other classes where partial exemption is granted, as in the case of hospital patiefnts, are retained jn the Bill. Additional exemption applies to people over the age of 65 whose annual income does not exceed £lO4. If any person receives payment for services rendered since August, 1931, when the emergency unemployment charge came into operation, and before the present Bill becomes law, apportionment of the sum may be arranged for employment taxation purposes. The general application of the charge on income other than salary or wages is maintained, subject to the existing exemptions. However, exemptions in respect to departure from New Zealand and death before an instalment falls due as applied to the levy are extended to this phase of taxation. Under the existing legislation there wag no authority to fix a date for the hearing of default assessment in respect to income other than salary or

I wages. The new Bill provides that notice of objection to an assessment can be given within 21 days. COLLECTION METHODS. The present provisions regarding the collection of employment tax are retained in the Bill. Among the additions in this respect are clauses protecting the Crown’s right to tax receipts in the event of the bankruptcy of an employer; making the amount of tax deducted by an employer and not accounted for a charge on his real and personal property; enabling the Crown to take action for the recovery of any tax which an employer has failed to deduct. The administrative expenditure under the Bill is to be charged first to the Consolidated Fund and not to the employment fund. However, the Consolidated Fund will subsequently be reimbursed, but only to an extent approved by the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Finance. POSITION OF WOMEN. During recent months there has been some agitation for payment of allowances to unemployed women. No specific provision for this purpose is made in the Bill, but the Ministers of Labour and Finance have discretionary power to extend the payment of allowances to women. The maximum allowances which may be paid to a man and his wife and dependants are also left to the discretion of the Ministers. The effect of this is to rule out the statutory limits at present existing. Since taking office the Government has maintained that willingness to accept work is essential for receipt of relief. One clause in the Bill provides that no allowance will be paid to any person if his unemployment is due to his refusal or failure to accept reasonable work which has been offered him. Except with the authority of the Minister, a person must reside in the Dominion for six months before he can qualify for relief allowances. There is power for the Minister of Public Works to carry out work on behalf of local authorities. The penalty applicable to persons who obtain benefits by making false representations is increased from £2O to £lOO.