THE FINANCE BILL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16822, 12 April 1918, Page 4

THE FINANCE BILL.

Provision for the financial requirements of the Dominion up to the end of next December is to be made by the Finance Bill introduced in the House of Representatives last evening. It deals with taxation as well as borrowing. Sir Joseph Ward now estimates that the rat« of taxa tion fixed last year will be sufficient for the present year, and he therefore proposes to re-enact the 1917 rates of land and income tax with the same special war taxes, and to continue, with some modification, the taxation of amusements. The Bill is being passed as an urgent measure, and little need be said in criticism of its provisions except that it perpetuates the anomalies which

were passed over last year. Chief among these are the continued exemption from taxation of municipal trading enterprises and the failure to appreciate the difference in taxpaying ability between the family man whose earnings are a little over the present exemption of £300 and the bachelor whose income is not much below that figure. During the past year the Government obtained authority to borrow £28,000,000 for war purposes. The present Bill contemplates loans amounting to £20,000,000, which may, of course, be supplemented next session if the need proves greater. Sir Joseph Ward indicates his intention of continuing the policy of exempting loan investments from taxation, a practice to which strong objection has already been made. By the completion vof the borrowing programme already in sight the actual income from over £50,000,000 will be removed from the scope of taxation. As previously announced by the Minister, new provisions aro made for com pulsory subscription to the war loans. A weakness of the scheme, as it appears from Sir Joseph Ward's explanation, is that the responsibility of assessing the individual liability is referred to the Commissioner of Taxes. The case certainly seems to call for the definition of some maximum standard. The only other proposal of note is that of extending the life of Parliament to the end of 1919, thus giving it a term of five years. A reliable precedent for this course has been given by the British Parliament, and it is difficult to perceive that any good purpose would be Bcrved by* adopting the only alternative course.