MONEY FOR STATE NEEDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17596, 8 October 1920, Page 5

MONEY FOR STATE NEEDS.

AUSTRALIAN PROJECTS. . TAX ON LUXURIES URGED. [FROM our OWN CORRESPONDENT.] SYDNEY, .Sept. 7. The Australian Governments, Federal and State, are more hard-pressed for money at present than at any time before in all their history. There is very little to be got in London, except at high rates, and yet their obligations are pressing. So all sorts of schemes are under consideration.

The Federal Government is thinking about " a luxuries tax." The idea was put before the Prime Minister by a depu tation from the Victorian Housewives' Association. It was suggested that one cause of the high cost of living was extravagant spending on luxuries, and it was proposed that a tax should be placed on all articles that might fairly be classed as luxuries. This would have the two-fold effect of forcing many people to curtail their expenditure and of providing the Government with welcome revenue. To everyone's surprise, the Prime Minister was much interested in the idea, and asked a lot of questions. He finally said the scheme was certainly worthy of consideration.

The New South Wales Labour Government has promised to do all sorts oi things requiring large sums of money, but is unable to find money even to meet current obligations. The Treasurer has elaborated a scheme of State lotteries, on a scale even greater than Tattersall's sweeps. The winners are to be paid with Treasury bonds, bearing a high rate of interest and redeemable in ten years. The Treasurer estimates that this -will make some millions of pounds available to the Treasury annually, besides keeping in the State the huge sums which now flow out to Tattersalls consultations in Tasmania. Tattersalls, officially, is illegal and not recognised ; actually, everyone, from the duke's son to the policeman and the kitchen-boy, has "a ticket in Tatts." The State Treasurer argues, therefore, that the outcry against his scheme " because it encourages gambling" is sheer hypocrisy. He proposes that there shall be 40 consultations a year, each of 100,000 5s tickets, which would produce £1,000,000 gross. Of this £750,000 would be returned to the winners in bonds (the cash remaining for ten years in the Treasury) and the Government would keep the balance of £250,000.