Land and Income Tax Amendment Bill.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XIX, Issue 3231, 22 September 1892, Page 2

Land and Income Tax Amendment Bill.

Following is the New Zealand Times report of Hon. J. Balance's speech on luesday on the motion for second reading of the Land and Income Tax Amendment Bill ;-—

The Colonial Treasurer saia the Bill cotamed the concessions the Government proposed to make to the taxpayers under the Act passed last year. Clause 3 contained some of those conceaaionß, among them being all land owned and mortgages held by friendly societies. Last year there was a long diseossion in the House as to the propriety of exempting savings banks, and Mr. Shera would, he declared amid laughter, be glad to learn that the Government now proposed to carry out that sug. gestion, and exempt savings banks from the operations of the Act. He hoped the proposal would fare better than it did last session. Also they proposed to exempt all land and mortgages held by the Commissioners of Sinking Fonda, or (be trustees of any sinking fund of any local body, and all mortgages and income of any pnblic charitable institutions. Clause 5 made more clear that when mortgages or land were held by persons or oompanics in tenancy in common should be assessed as if only owned by one person, and one exemption only on account of improvements would be allowed. There was also a provision that objections to income tax should be heard before a Resident Magistrate, instead of Boards ol .Review, and clause 9 contained provision for adjustment of taxation in cases where land or mortgage changed hands before the commencement of a new year oi taxation. In sohedule aof the Act o! 1891 an amendment was proposed bj whioh the amount of £120 was raised tc £200 as the sum on whioh a furtbei exemption should be allowed in case tb< owner of any land or mortgage was in capacitated from further business or em ployment. He now came to one of th< most important olaases of the Bill, bj wbioh it was provided thai ; Xfrhen a com pany had borrowed money upon deben tures they would not be liable to bi assessed for income tax in respect of si muoh of the money so borrowed at was invested in mortgages on land ii New Zealand, Buch mortgages having als< been assessed for land tax. That wonl< give relief from taxation to a great manj people in the colony, and would, if carriet out, result in a loss to the revenue of abou £10,000, as far as they could ascertain Another amendment exempted all income; derived from the deposit of money a interest with any bank, &0., and inone: lent at interest in any way otherwise thai by mortgage on land. It had been arguei that building societies ought to be ex emptied, , but, after careful consideration the Government had come to the oonolu sion that a great many of these so-calle( building societies were Bimply loan com panics in a greater or lees degree, and i they allowed exemptions in the case o building societies they must allow them it the case of loan companies. However, th< amount of money involved was not verj great, and he would submit the matter tc the consideration of the House. As nearlj as the Government could estimate, th< concessions given by the Bill amounted tc between £14,000 and £15,000, and then was eve;y probability that an income at estimated of £850,000 would be realised The member for Newton, Sir Geo. Grey had given notice of an amendment exempt ing all improvements, an 3 a return had been laid on the table of the House showing the amount of property in the shape o: improvements wbioh would be affeoted bj that amendment. The amount of revenue they would lose if that were oarried wai between £87,000 and £40,000—be though! it wonld be nearer the latter amount— -and be would inform the House at onoe thai that was an amount they could not afford to lose. It simply meant the derange' ment of their finance, andtheGovernmenl would not accept that amendment ; thej did not intend to derange their finance, and they did sot intend to have anj other finance than that which they had placed before the House. He did not mean to say they wonld not acoept any amendments which did cot affect theit finance, but this amendment involved so radioal a change in the finanoe of the year that they could not possibly aooept it and be at the same time answerable for their estimates being realised. Mr. Fish: You have an estimated eurplns of £300,000. The Colonial Treasurer, continuing, said they had disposed of that surplus in their finance they had made their pro* posals for tba year, and if hon. members thought the Government were now going to make any change on acoount of any gentleman representing tbe Opposition they were greatly mistaken. If the Opposition bad desired any change they should have moved an amendment on tbe motion to go into Committee of Supply. That would have been a fair resolution to have submitted to the House, Bui their proposals were now before the ooontry, and they were not going to alter them. He hoped the Bill would be discussed without any extreme party.; spirit, and would be considered fairly by both aides of the House.