DOMINION TAXATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18563, 22 November 1923, Page 11

DOMINION TAXATION.

ANOMALIES IN INCIDENCE.

PUBLIC BODIES' EXEMPTION.

CHANGE IN METHODS URGED

Taxation questions were discussed" at the conference of Associated Chambers j of Commerce, yesterday. Mr. Stronach. Paterson (Canterbury) moved the following remit: This conference notes with satisfaction the reductions of taxation that have been made by the Government, but regrets that many grave anomalies still exist in the methods and incidence of New Zealand taxation. It again urges on the Government the necessity of further economies in the administrative expenditure, and of further reform of taxation methods in accordance with the recommendation hf the 1922 Taxations Committee. . Mr. J. T. Martin (Wellington) said the conference would bo well guided by the findings of the Taxation Committee. Its recommendations stated that taxation was on the wrong basis, and in the case of company taxation, it was altogether unfair and unequitable, in incidence, making it a practicable impossibility to stabilise industries. Mr. T. B. Waters (Oamaru), emphasised the need for economy in administration. The remit was adopted. Resentment at the freedom from taxation of municipal and State enterprises was expressed by several delegates. The following Wellington amended remits bearing on this aspect were carried:— That the freedom from taxation and rating enjoyed by institutions controlled by the State and local bodies, thus conferring advantages over similar trading concerns in the hands of private citizens, is improper, and it is the opinion of the conference that all businesses should be placed On an equality of footing, and that' it should be obligatory that an annual balance-sheet relating to, each such enterprise be published. That all lands owned by local bodies and leased for revenue purposes to persons, firms, and companies, should be subject to land tax on the same basis as privately-owned land. That income tax, equivalent approximately to the average rate paid by companies, be paid by all public bodies and Government trading and publicly-owned utility undertakings, , and the tax arrived at by assuming income based on a fixed percentage of the total amount of capital employed. With reference to incidence the following Auckland remit was adopted:— That the Government be urged to relieve the present unfairly imposed burden upon the general taxpayer, by altering the incidence of income tax in accordance with the recommendations of the Taxation Commission: (a) By the inclusion of dividends in shareholders' .; individual assessments instead of a . levy upon . the total income of registered companies; (b) by providing that taxation upon income derived from debenture securities bo the same as that from mortgages. The opinion was expressed that it was inequitable that the, graduated principle, intended to discourage the aggregation of country lands, should \be applied to city properties employed..in production of assessable income. ,- Following on the discussions on tefeVtion matters, Mr. J. T. Martin (Wellington) moved that the Government be .urged to reduce.the maximum of income tax to 4s in the £, and this was adopted unanimously. c , t ,

DECISIONS OF CONFERENCE.

PRIMAGE AND STAMP DUTY.

SEA CARRIAGE OP GOODS.

A large number of remits were dealt with at the first business session of the Chambers of Commerce yesterday. : A telegram was sent, to the GovernorGeneral, expressing. the conference's reI spectful sympathy in the illness of hi* daughter, and ; trusting that the patient was progressing satisfactorily. His unavoidable!, absence was much regretted. Apology for absence was received from the vice-president, Mr. A. F. Roberto, of Wellington, who has been appointed Commissioner for New Zealand to.the British Empire Exhibition. - '";• '. The report of the executive dealing with the activities of the Associated Chambers during the year was. adopted. \ A remit put forward by the Dunedin delegates was to the effect that the time had arrived when in the general interests of the community the primage duty imposed entirely as a war measure, should be removed., i,. ~ ~ , Mr R. L. Stewart * (Auckland), objected that the conference by adopting this remit would be asking too much of the Government, having already decided to ask for a reduction in the maximum of taxation to 4s in the £."". The removal of this' one per cent, primage customs duty, be felt, would not benefit the consumer, but would only put money in the pocket of the merchant. -\ . Mr. A. G. Henderson (Christchurch) supported the remit on the ground thata special war measure should not be tolerated for one day longer than could be helped. ' ■ '•*.*/• -. ''•<'.■-•■ The remit was adopted. The restoration of the.one penny stamp duty on cheques and receipts was suggested in a remit by the Auckland Chamber. It was urged that the 2d duty was a heavy tax on trade 'and commerce, and represented a charge for which no - actual service was rendered to the community. This remit was adopted. The remit put forward by the Auckland Chamber that "the provision under section 166. sub-section 2, of the Companies' Act, 1908, requiring full subscription of the'original capital of a private company be made equally applicable to subsequent capital issue," was adopted. -"" •;;. A discussion took place > on the matter of supervision of trade union ballots. A Hastings remit suggested that the Government be urged to pass legislation making it illegal for any body of persons to conduct a ballot on any question which might decide the course of action to be adopted by the workmen of any particular trade, unless such ballot was under the control and supervision of an official of the Labour Department. The remit was lost by 14 votes to 17.. It was decided to adopt a Dnfledin remit that amendments be made to awards which ' gave waterside workers authority to hold a monthly stop-work meeting during recognised working hours, as the practice was very detrimental to the community. . With reference to the sea carriage of goods, the following Dunedin remit was adopted :—When any carrier or any person has taken delivery of any package of goods from an overseas ship and has given a receipt acknowledging such package to be in apparent good order and condition, but delivers it to the consignee in other than apparent good order and condition, and it is found to have been tampered with or pillaged, the production of bona-fide invoices by the consignee shall be prima-facie evidence that the con- ; tents of the package were in accordance therewith, and onus of proof to the contrary shall rest upon such carrier or person, , A remit from Canterbury was to the effect that the attention of the Government be drawn to the confusion in the keeping of accounts in the Post and Telegraph Department, and that the Government be urged to revise the accounting system so that the results of each branch of the department's activities would be clearly disclosed. t Mr. A. G. Headerson, of Christchurch, 'stated that when the Christchurch Progress League conducted the investigations mentioned it was discovered that the whole of the revenue from telephone toll calls was taken by the Telegraphic Department, which supplied the '.vitv> onlv. while the telephone branch supplied the necessarv service. This' tolls revenue amounted to from £70,000 to £80,000 per annum, so that were it credited to the telephone branch, as was its due, the latter would show a substantial profit. The remit was adopted. i