CAPITAL LEVY
IS IT JUST? BRITISH BANKERS AND WAR WEALTH. PROPOSAL CONDEMNED. By Telegraph— Press Assn.— Copyright Australian and Csibi* Association. LONDON, March 10The opposition of tankers to a capital levy on war wealth was voiced before a House of Commons Committee on February 24th. Mr R. M. Martin, chairman of the British Bankers’ Association, said he considered a tax on war profits was undoubtedly just, but a tax on war wealth as proposed was a direct attack upon thrift. A man who, during the war, stinted himself to invest in the war loan would now see his savings raided if they exceeded £2OOO, while a profiteer, who scattered his newly-mado riches, .went free. Dealing with the effect on trade, Mr Martin said the demands of the banks for loans for legitimate purposes were increasing. A trader who wished to do his pre-war trade required at least three times as much capital. It was a complete fallacy to think that because bankers’ deposits had risen there was at hand a surplus fund which could be tapped ly taxation.
Mr Pain, joint manager of Lloyd’s Bank, denied that there was any war wealth. He said the proposal before the committee was the greatest blow to credit the country had ever had. The tax would follow the great financial efforts made by the people during the war, and at a less favourable time. He gave it as the deliberate opinion of himself and of prominent financiers and bankers, that if the suggested tax was imposed the country would be in serious danger of a financial panic such as the present generation had never known.
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Bibliographic details
New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10542, 19 March 1920, Page 6
Word Count
272CAPITAL LEVY New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10542, 19 March 1920, Page 6
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