SALARY TAXATION

Hokitika Guardian, 21 September 1937, Page 6

SALARY TAXATION

A PLEA FOR REDUCTION. (Per * Press Association —Copyright). WELLINGTON, Sept. 20. Speaking in the legislative Council, Hon .Vincent Ward made, a plea for a reduction in'taxation on the salaried man who was not in a position to protect himself through a union or by other means. Income tax bad been increased by 300 per cent, on the man earning £4OO, while increases on some

other classes had not been so great. “I want to make a plea for the great mass of the people in this country,” Mr Ward said, “for those in receipt of incomes from £2OO to £SOO per annum. The wealthy man can look after himself; if his wealth is attacked lie is quite capable of making himself heard. The wage-earner can be heard. He has the unions, and the union secretaries to look after him, and he can appeal to the Arbitration Court, but the man I refer to is silent; he has.no means of being heard; lie goes on from day to day doing his daily task.”

In 1914, said Mr Ward, the man with £4OO a year paid £lO as income tax, and by 1937 that had increased to £4O, or by 300 per cent. AIL the smaller incomes up to £OOO bad been increased from 250 to 300 per cent., while from £6OO to £2,000 the increase was only approximately 15*!) per cent. Beyond £2,000 the increase had gone up and readied as much as 512 per cent, increase over 1914. Wealth was evenly distributed in New Zealand, Mr Ward continued, and returns showed that for 1935-36 over £50,000,000 had been received by 133,-9-52 persons. The assessable income on that was over £47,000,u0(). Of these, 4,926 were earning over £I,OOO, and 176 earned over £SOOO. On these higher incomes taxation had reached approximately 10s in the £. Generally speaking, taxation was too high, and should have been reduced with the return of prosperity. The Hon T. Bril idle had said that previous Governments bad reduced direct taxation only to increase indirect taxation, but that was not so. From 1930 to 1936 direct taxation had increased and indirect taxation had decreased. Fifty-six per cent, of ail taxation was indirect in 1930, but in 1936 the position had been reversed 49 per cent, being indirect. '