MANY CONGRATULATIONS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21888, 25 August 1934, Page 12

MANY CONGRATULATIONS

MESSAGES TO MINISTER CIVIL SERVICE SALARIES INCREASE WELL DESERVED [BV TELEGRAPH —SPECIAL REPORTER! WELLINGTON, Friday Pleasure at the reception given to the Budget by the country was ex■pressed by the Minister of Finance, Mr. Coates, in an interview this evening. Mr. Coates said he had received many congratulatory telegrams expressing the conviction that tho balancing of the Budget and the lightening of taxation would do much to consolidate tho increasing signs of confidence. "Of course, the concessions announced in tho Budget have also given rise to applications for an extension, particularly in connection with pensions, other than those paid to the aged," said Mr. Coates. Discussing tho criticism that oldMige pensions were (o be increased from October 1, while the increase in salaries to the Public Service had been mado retrospective to April 1, Mr. Coates said tho logic of the position surely was that tho servants of the State had a greater claim than those who were recipients of tho State's bounty. The plain fact was that he was budgeting this year for a surplus of only £BOOO, and in those circumstances, no more concessions could be given than had been announced in the Budget. Another current comment brought under the notice of Mr. Coates was that in increasing the salaries of civil servants, no invitation had been extended to outside employers to act similarly. Mr. Coates replied that on an average civil servants had been subjected to greater salary reductions than other workers. There was the first flat rate cut of 10 per cent, and the second cut graduated between 5 and 12£ per cent. On an average, the reduction in salaries was about 19 per cent. Some outside employees had not suffered salary cuts at all, while very few had had reductions approaching that applied to civil servants. He considered that members of the Public Service had stood up to the sacrifices necessarily imposed in a splendid way, and were fully entitled to increases on which tho Government had decided. IMPROVED FINANCES

TRIBUTE BY THE TIMES DOMINION'S GOOD FAITH Times Cable LONDON, August 23 The Times, in a leading article, says: —New Zealand's financial improvement has given the greatest pleasure in Britain, where the Dominion's brave struggle has been followed with admiration and sympathy, especially as it has shown such welcome readiness to cooperate in furthering a general recovery. New Zealand accepted the Ottawa agreements without quibble or qualification, and recently reduced the duties on a number of British imports, and has recognised that the prosperity of New Zealand is bound up with the prosperity of her customers in Britain. The progress of the Douitflion must be especially gratifying to the GovernorGeneral, Lord Bledisloe, who has so completely identified himself with New Zealand interests during the period of trial.

OPPORTUNITY MISSED

REDUCING TAXATION HIGHER COST OF GOVERNMENT [by telegraph—press association] WELLINGTON, Friday A "wobbly Budget" is the term used by Mr. A. M. Seaman, president of tho Associated Chambers of Commerce, to describe the Budget the Government has produced under greatly improved: financial conditions. Mr. Seaman said that, notwithstanding certain welcome if modest relief in unemployment taxation, one~of the outstanding features of' tho Budget was that no relief whatever was given to tho overburdened taxpayers as far aS the Consolidated Fund was concerned. This year the taxpayers had to provide £2,300,000 more in taxation than last year and their endurance was stretched to the utmost. The Government had let go an opportunity of giving a wonderful fillip to recovery by means of taxation relief. No sooner did an iniprovement in taxation yield result than the money was promptly spent. Tho total expenditure from the Con-; solidated Fund would he greater again than' last year, so that the costs o£ Government were still keeping ahead of tho capacity of the taxpayers, continued Mr. Seaman. It was plain that stubborn Government expenditure was a very cogent reason why the screw was being kept on the taxpayers, Rnd this was a disturbing tendency which should be very firmly chocked. Taxation rolief this year tfas gone, but it seemed necessary to insist that economies must be continued unremittingly. Mr. Seaman remarked it was gratifying that the public works proposed could be undertaken without raising further loan money. Judgment on the proposed national mortgage corporation must be suspended pending fur-; ther details, but it seemed there was; proposed a very larrjo State department which was to out of the hands of private enterprise functions which could very well be performed by private enterprise if only the existing legislative restrictions were removed.