Taxing Public Body Trading Departments

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6619, 4 August 1931, Page 7

Taxing Public Body Trading Departments

POSSIBLE SOURCE OF REVENUE Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, Last Night. Serious objection was taken by the Associated Chambers of Commerce to the fact that the Budget contains no provision for the taxation of public bodies trading in competition with private enterprise. Asked for an expression of the views of the chambers ou the Budget, Mr. A. O. He.any, organising secretary, said his body had yet to give full consideration to the proposals , but the immediate objection it had to make was the omission from tlic Budget of any provision for the taxation of trading public bodies in order to place them on a footing similar to those trading concerns with which they were in unfair competition at the present time. “This has been a burning question with the business community for years,” Mr. Heany said. “It is absolutely unfair and unjust that one section of the community should be served with a commodity such as electric light or gas at a cheaper rate rendered possible by exemption from taxation than another section, merely by reason of the service being controlled either by a power board or a municipality, and it has long been the earnest endeavour of the Associated Chambers of New Zealand to have these concerns brought within the scope of the Act. “Remit after remit has been passed by the Associated Chambers at their conferences on the lines of" representations made to tho Government. When the Associated Chambers approached as a deputation on July 2 last, tho Primo Minister, the Minister of Industries and Commerce, the Attorney-General and the Postmaster-General, the Prime Minister said that the Government already had under consideration the possibility of getting increased revenue by of some of these enterprises. In view of this most sympathetic expression of opinion, it comes as a painful surprise to the chambers to note that the matter has not been dealt with in the Budget.” Mr. Heany said the estimated tax collectable under this heading, as stated by the deputation of various bodies which waited on the Prime Minister in regard to taxation on August 15, 1930, was £IO,OOO. This indicated the revenue that could be collected by the Government from trading public bodies as fair taxation, besides which it would remedy the unfair position that existed to-day.