SOURCES OF TAXATION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21414, 11 February 1933, Page 15

SOURCES OF TAXATION

Sir,—A Government more greedy for money than any "other in our histoiy, after racking its brains for new sources of revenue, lias increased the duty on sugar, tobacco and petrol, and given us in a sales tax. probably the most harassing, inconvenient and vicious tax ever introduced into New Zealand. There is one fruitful source of revenue, however, that surely must have occurred to it time and again, but never a word has been said about it. This is the liquor monopoly. Here the State has for many years granted a monopoly to a small section of the community, out of which handsome fortunes ha.ve been and still are being made, and this for a licence fee that, compared with the profits, is merely nominal, lo give a concrete instance, a hotel in any small country town may be worth, without its licence, say, £l5O a year rental. Add the licence and the rental increases to £ISOO or more. And who gets the extra £1350 ? The owner of, the licence. In other words, the State has created a close corporation composed of individuals forming, I should imagine, about one-tenth of 1 per cent of our population, who, by payment of a nominal licence fee, have the sole right to sell liquor over a certain area. One would imagine that a needy Minister of Finance searching for fresh avenues of taxation would seize on this avenue with avidity. For consider what it has in its favour. It is essentially morally just; the individuals would be able to bear it easily; they would find it difficult) to pass it on to the public and so increase the cost of living. It is not now nor hag it ever been taxed. Its subject-matter is a. pure luxury, produced by an industry that, at best, has no economic value to the community and probably does us considerable havm. Its collection would be easy and inexpensive. These are the arguments for it. Now can the needy Minister aforesaid tell mo any reasons why such a tax should not be introduced ? Doubtless he could, but T feel sure that he will not, for as somebody has remarked before, " even a politician has his reticences," Nevertheless it remains a public scandal that these monopolists are allowed to go free while taxation is being loaded every session more and more heavily upon the poorer members of the community. - ■ ' CkHeJ* 3TCO*. j