LITTLE RELIEF

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26232, 16 August 1946, Page 6

LITTLE RELIEF

TAXATION STILL HEAVY A DISAPPOINTING BUDGET (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Aug. 15. After listening for an hour and three-quarters to a very political speech, the actual contents of the Budget were disappointing from the angle of relief of -taxation, said the chairman of the Stock Exchange Association of New Zealand, Mr Andrew Hamilton, to-night. The chief contents of the Budget, he said, seemed to be increased expenditure resulting in little chance of making both ends meet by curtailing income taxation sources.' While other countries were making serious endeavours to get back to peace-time taxes, little sign was shown in New Zealand of a return to a similar condition. The Minister had made it clear that the excess profits tax, which was put on for war purposes, could no longer be sustained, but the abolition of that form of tax gave a relief of only £500.000. The same line of reasoning could easily have been sustained for the complete removal of the 33 1-3 per cent, surcharge which was also put on for war purposes. Mr Hamilton said that one very disappointing feature was that no thought had been given to two very inequitable forms of taxation: the 33 1-3 per cent, on unearned income which seriously affected the elderly retired person on a fixed income arising from mortgages or Government stocks, and the unfair addition of non-assessable income brought into the income tax return for the purpose of erroneously increasnig the rate on taxable income.