THE BUDGET

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 5 August 1931, Page 6

THE BUDGET

; OBJECTION BY COMMERCIAL INTERESTS i j no TA& (ifi STX'Tfe lifiti- iftjßLlC ! TRADING BODIES ' -I i ; i;, •—f — ,ii .j i (lly Telegraph— Press Association) WELLINGTON, 3rd August. Serious objection is 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 on the Budget, the organising secretary said his body had yet to give full consideration to the proposals, but the immediate ob : jeetion which it had to make was the omission in the 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 wore in unfair competition at the present time. "This lias .been a burning question with the business community for years,” he said. “It is absolutely unfair and unjust tiiat 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 Chan/hers at conferences on the lines of representations ma.de to the Government. When the Associated Chambers approached the Prime Minister, the Minister for Industries and Commerce, the .AttorneyGeneral, and the Postmaster-General on 2nd July, the Prime Minister said the Government already had under consideration the possibility of getting increased revenue by the taxation of such enterprises. "In view of this most sympathetic expression of opinion, it comes as a surprise to the Chambers to note that the matter has not been, dealt with in the Budget. . We estimated the tax collectable under this heading as staled by a deputation which waited on the Prime Minister in regard to taxation , on 15th Augiist, 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 unjust position that exists to-day.”