MINISTER FOR LABOUR

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11251, 1 July 1922, Page 7

MINISTER FOR LABOUR

LIVING ON CAPITAL OR. INCOME? The Hon. G. J. Anderson strongly opposed the amendment. Reviewing the increases in wages, the bonuses, and the increased’ cost of materials, machinery, otc., he remarked that during the war we were living on our capital, but now we had to live on our income. One would think that the Government was out to injure the poor man, but the fact was that it was out to put the finances of the country on a proper footing, and bring its expenditure within its revenue. As to the suggestion that the Government should restrict the cut to tho higher salaries, if it took the whole of the salaries of public servants over £9OO a year, it would get only £67,835 a year Out of the 51.000 public servants, some 44,000 received' under £321 a year, and they got much the larger part of the nine millions paid in salaries and wages; so that if the Government cut them out it might ns well exit out the whole thing. The House, however, had not now to decide on the cut, but on the Imprest Supply Bill. It could not decide on the cut until Cabinet had considered the report of the President of the Arbitration Cout; and the House would have ample opportunity next to consider the matter. No cy,fc had been made in public sendee salaries, except the 10 Tier cent, off those over £800; the cut for the others was tm the bonus—at the outside would take some £45 out of the £95, or lees than half. As against that the Arbitration Court out of the current outside bonus of 13s a week was taking 5s a week. "A SPECIAL TAX.” Air Parry denounced the cut £© a special tax on the Public Service Quoting from a list of prices from the Year Bock of 1899, he * contended that the purchasing power of wages to-day was less than in As to where the Government could get the money, in 1921 there were 39 landowners with a combined income of £600,000, and 622 with a combined income of £3,154,614. That showed that there were some very wealthy men in the country who could well afford to be taxed.