HOSPITAL LEVIES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 4871, 16 February 1933, Page 3

HOSPITAL LEVIES.

LOCAL BODY’S SUGGESTION

The Minister of Health, the Hon. J. A. Young, has replied to a suggestion by the Tauranga County Council that hospital hoard levies on contributory local authorities should be apportioned on the basis of 50 per cent, on capital valuation and 50 per cent, on population. “I have to advise that the proposal has been considered on a number of occasions,” writes the Minister, “but it has not met with the approval of the Government. It is pointed out- that .population is not an equitable basis upon which to levy contributions within each hospital district, and, furthermore, the taxable commodity is the rateable capital value. It should also be pointed out that the contribution levied upon local, authorities is not the full contribution from taxation toward hospital board expenditure, but that subsidies arc paid from the Consolidated Fund each year equal to the total amount of levies on local authorities. The county dork should lie advised that the Government is unable to adopt bis council’s suggestion.”

When the quarterly instalment, £B4l, of the Hospital Board levy was passed for payment by the Horowhenua County Council on Saturday, Cr. Gimjblett remarked that 1 the man on the land was paying bills of which very little account was taken. The man in the street, he thought, did not realise what a charge that was on the farmer, in addition to maintaining roads for motor traffic after the benzine tax was diverted to other uses. “Quite right,” was the Chairman’s comment on Councillor Gimblett’s views. ,