TAXATION

Marlborough Express, Volume LIV, Issue 189, 11 August 1920, Page 4

TAXATION

DEMAND FOR REVISION. > ■ •.. .

NO CHANGE THIS YEAR.

[feaOM OTIR CORRESPONDENT.]

WELLINGTON, Aug. 10. The appearaxive of■ th.3 annual* Taxing Bill,' providing tor the assessment of land and income tax, created quite* a long 'discjssaon- in the House, today, in spite of « prompt, declaration l-y the Minister i'or Finance that it \ ias an old measure involving m> change. The tenor of the discussion1 was to emphasise that owing to the present injustice in tho incidence of taxation there ought to be a revision of the taxation system.

Mr Massey explained that the Finance Committee of the House was; Considering taxation proposals and: .'v;ould report about, a week henbe. '.< here would be no .change in land and? 'income-tax this year. A portion of the Government' 3 fresh taxation proposals were before this committee. Later in the session a comprehensive' I'ill dealing Avith land and income tax, the incidence of taxation, and the/amendment-'of the death duties would be referred to the FinanceCommittee. ,'Thus there would beplenty of opportunities' to deal with tho incidence of taxation. Mr Veitch (Wanganui) suggested that tho Government was preaching economy, but it was not possible , among "the mass of people, because they had nothing to, squander, yet. v ealthy people escaped so lightlythat they could go in for extravagance. The Government proposed to take £6,250,000 from the people'in. Customs and Excise duty, or an inrreaso of £1,000,000 over last year. If to this sum was added the usual merchant':; profit, it would be seen that the Government proposed to collect from the head of an averaao family something like 25s a week. Yet the proposed.increase in the land tax was trifling. It looked as if ih& House \v;;s being delayed and kept doing minor work while the law draftsmen were completing Bills for which t.hey got instructions too late. Mr-Pas-rv (Auckland Centra,!) estimated that the Customs taxation paid by a. worker with two children: totalled 12* per cent, of hi? total earnings, though the average income* tax was about 3 per cent, of the* wealthy man's income. Mr Statham (Dunedin Central)1 pointed out that another year was being lost if the present Bill' was put through, perpetuating all the old injustices. H« regretted that the Government had failed to bring in itw taxation reforms before the annual Taxing Bill was introduced,* . Dr Newman (Wellington East) supported the last speaker's proposal, declaring that the Government admitted the injustice of the old plan of taxation, but wanted to go on in thesame old way.

Several Labor nem^ers/ advocated? the State a.ppropnatfon of a substantial pronortion of the increment in. l&nd values.

Th« discussion ended without further Ministerial enlightenment nl-out the Government's futui'e taxation policy. f