THE COMPULSORY LOAN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24415, 28 September 1940, Page 13

THE COMPULSORY LOAN

40 THF EDITOP Sir, —Once again the income lax returns are to be used as a basis for further restricting purchasing power. Is it not time that the principles underlying this tax received some attention? On the one hand, it is not an unheard of thing for the Commissioner of Taxes to appear among the creditors in a bankrupt estate. On the other hand, it is quite clear that wealthy companies, chiefly those dealing in abstractions, are able, apparently for indefinite periods, to declare only that portion of their profits which it is their intention to distribute among their shareholders. The vast sums that appear apparently from nowhere when a loan is floated indicate that there is a power to call on wealth unrecognised by the original Act There is no doubt that many will have to borrow before they can subscribe to the new loan. Will the Reserve Bank be prepared to lend at the same rate of interest as that offered? If so, what is the reality behind the proposed loan? Many are puzzled over the strange attitude— Voluntary if you do, compulsory if you don’t. “ Divide and conquer ” is an old trick. The taxpayer is being treated as an enemy. Who but a dictator would regard the public as an enemy? Many dictators have come to power in our lifetime; many are the instruments that they have used to gain power. With so many opportunities of observing their behaviour before and after gaining power, we should now be able to recognise their peculiarities before they gain absolute power.—l am, etc., H. C, Dunedin September 27.