Taxes High Despite Cuts

Northern Advocate, 7 March 1947, Page 5

Taxes High Despite Cuts

(By C. R. MENTIPLAY). (Rec. 10 a.m.) SYDNEY, This Day, Favourable reaction to the Government proposals to reduce taxation, increase pensions and to examine a scheme for the establishment of a general retiring allowance, irrespective of means, is noticeable throughout Australia. For the mopaent even the voices of the Opposition are stilled. It is apparent that the remarks of Opposition leaders, who were quick to cry “this is our scheme; Political Labour has stolen it to promote its own ends,” were scarcely noticed in the general rejoicing. The Australian taxpayer cannot now claim that he is the most heavily taxed citizen in the world, but, unfortunately, he is reminded every time he receives his weekly salary cheque that the Government still gets a large proportion of his earnings. That will be so, even after July 1, when the new scale will apply. BASIC WAGE REDUCTIONS At present even a single man earning £125 a year pays his 1/3 a week tax, while a single man receiving £IOOO a year hands £5/5/- every week to the Government. Being on the basic wage does not exclude a man from taxation, as he finds out every week when 12/6 is deducted from his pay envelope. In the cities, where costs are generally much higher than in New Zealand, salaries of between £4OO and £BOO a year are common. The Government takes between £l/6/3 and £3/16/3 from these every week. The new deductions will lighten the burden, but the average taxpayer will still know he is carrying a load. In the last-mentioned bracket, for instance, the remission will amount to between 7/6 and 15/9 a week. SMALL DIFFERENCES A married man on £4OO to £BOO a year will still pay .11/9 and £2/9/3 a week after the end of June, with a further deduction of between 4/9 and 7/6 if he has a child. People with large incomes will scarcely notice the difference, for a man with a wife and two children and earning £2OOO a year will be contribing £ll/6/3 a week. One earning £3OOO £22/11/9 and one earning £SOOO £49/2/-. The *Press is discovering omissions, among which the most important is continuation of high wartime taxation on companies. Public companies still pay a general tax of 6/- in the £l, a supertax of 1/- in the £1 on incomg over £SOOO, an undistributed profits tax of 2/- in the £1 and the wartime companies tax. Last financial year companies handed the Government £55,264,216, while individuals paid £139,329,362. GROWTH IN STATE PAYROLL Continuance of this taxation is undoubtedly having Its effect on expansion and development, and even on the maintenance of existing'plant. Britain, Canada and the United States were quick to cut company taxation after the war ended. Another raw spot has been discovered in the number of people on the Commonwealth’s payroll, which rose from 18,000 in 1939 to 148,000 at the end of last year. In one month the salaries of Government employees totalled £12,000,000. This army has increased by over 6000 since*the end of the war. While the Australian citizen is rejoicing in the prospect of enjoying relief from taxation in four months, he is already beginning to cry “not enough.”