SALES TAX PAYMENTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21503, 29 May 1933, Page 7

SALES TAX PAYMENTS

ACCEPTANCE OF CHEQUES MINISTER'S ASSURANCE EFFECTIVE REPRESENTATIONS It is not intended by tho Government that bank guarantees should be required before cheques are accepted in payment of sales tax. A statement to this effect has been received by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce from tho Minister of Customs, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, who adds that the collector of sales tax in Auckland has been advised not to require such guarantees. Tho matter aroso out of a circular issued to merchants by Mr. J. Mcintosh, collector of customs at Auckland, refusing to accept in payment of sales tax cheques or bank drafts unless they were secured by a bank guarantee.

The question was taken up with the Minister of Customs by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, which pointed out that, in view of the regulation permitting sales tax to be paid by cheque with the permission of the collector of customs, it seemed to savour of red tape and to be an unnecessary imposition to require cheques to be secured by bank guarantee.

The chamber further asked that when tho regulations came up for review they should bo amended to permit the sales tax payments to be effected by lodging tho appropriate amount to the credit of the public account at the place where tho collector's office was situated and tendering the bank receipt to the collector. To this tho Minister has replied that no objection will be raised by tho Government to modifying the regulations along the lines suggested on tho first occasion on which they are being revised.

A meeting of the sales tax committee of the Chamber of Commerce was hold to consider the Order-in-Council on May 22, and it was noted with satisfaction that the chamber had made considerable headway in representations to the authorities designed to secure smooth and .equitable working of the sales tax. In particular it was noted that tho question of double taxation previously taken up by the chamber had been partly met by the exemption of certain articles such as circulars, fuel oil, etc., commonly used in production; but it was decided to write to tho Minister expressing regret that instead of dealing with the matter on broad principle it had been tackled in a piecemeal and incomplete manner.

Tho committee also decided t-o write to the Minister taking exception to tho exemption from sales tax of duty free goods (including goods liable to primage duty only) "imported by persons not engaged in business" and asking for a definition of such persons.