“TOTE” FRACTIONS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVII, Issue 10951, 13 July 1921, Page 5

“TOTE” FRACTIONS

COMMANDEERED FOR STATE PECULIAR ANOMALY IN FINANCE ACT. WILL PAYMENT BE MADE? » An anomaly in relation to section 25 of the Finance Act, 1920, commandeering totalisator fractions for . the State, has been pointed put to a “Times” representative. The section in question provides that, on and from the first of the presemt month, “All moneys received from investments on the totalisator at any race meeting, and not disposed of pursuant to .section 35 of tire Gaming Act, 1908, shall, rvibhin seven days after the conclusion of the race meeting, be paid into the Public Account and shall form part of the Consolidated Fund.” Section 35 of the Gaming Act, referring to the payment of the dividend, provides that “it shall not be necessary to pay out fractions of a shilling • unless such fraction amounts to or exceeds sixpence, in which case sixpence shall he paid:”, and the intention of the section first quoted was to take tHSse fractions for the Consolidated Fund. The words of the section, however, it was pointed out to the “Times’ T man, clearly apply also to unpaid dividends ; and since tile racing clubs are likely to be called upon by the “tote” ticket-holders to pay . these dividends long after seven days from the conclusion of th© race meeting, the question arises whether or no the Treasury will make provision for such payment, if it be called for. The section, it was' pointed out in conclusion, provides no machinery for the purpose ; but it had been suggested that the case would he met if the clubs were allowed to retain the unpaid dividends,; say,, for three months after the conclusion of the race meeting, and then hand over any unpaid balance to the Consolidated Fund. RACING MEN PROTEST. Both the Trotting Conference and the Country Racing Clubs’ Conference, which sat in Wellington yesterday, decided to protest against the taking of the totalisator .fraction* by th© Government. It was contended that the money did not belong to the Government, and that, having no right to it, the Government should not take it. It is likely that a racing deputation will wait on the Minister for Finance on the subject.