TAXATION OF FARMERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20324, 3 August 1929, Page 15

TAXATION OF FARMERS.

"AN INIQUITOUS PROPOSAL."

PAYMENT BOTH WAYS.

CRITICISM IN THE SOUTH

[BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] CIIRISTCHURCH.' Fridny.

The taxation of farmers proposed in the Budget has aroused protests here. Mr. W. Machin, manager of the New Zealand Farmers' Co-operative Association, said that to confess helplessness in tho cm (ailment of public expenditure and to dig deeper into the pockets of the taxpayers for the required revenue, was a bad lead to everybody in the Dominion trying to make ends meet. It was to bo hoped that tho collective wisdom of Parliament would realise the cold facts of tho present position, that Government expenditure has become too high and must lie cut down.

"The proposal to make a large farmer pay either income-tax or land-tax. whichever is tlie larger, is not equitable," said Mr. Machin. "British people have accepted the doctrine that it is fair to tax incomes and profits, but it can never be just to tax losses. This is what will happen in the case of many people who are farming iargo areas of land which they cannot subdivide and cannot sell at tho present time They are struggling to pay mortgage interest and have been borrowing for years to pay land-tax, sometimes nigh graduated land-tax, which has increased their annual losses. "It seems to me that the time has arrived for tho whole question of landtax to Ijo reconsidered, and as a trader I shall be interested to see whether the farming community generally in this matter decides to stand by that proportion of its number which suffers intense hardship under these proposals. If they do take concerted action I think that fairminded business men must support them."

"It is an iniquitous proposal." said a man who represents farming interests. "It is iniquitous in that it will catch farmers both ways on land-tax or on income. It is the type of legislation which will tend to make the Government very unpopular so far as the farming community is concerned."

PROTEST FROM ASHBURTON.

ACTION BY COUNTY COUNCIL,

[BY TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

ASHBURTON, Friday

The Ashburton County Council decided to send a strong protest to the Prime Minister and the members for the district against the Government's policy of taxing the farming community to help to meet the deficit.