DEATH DUTIE

Otago Witness, Issue 3475, 19 October 1920, Page 53

DEATH DUTIE

AN INCREASE PROPOSED.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, October 14.

As suggested last night, the Government has introduced a Bill to increase the death duties, no doubt mainly with a view to providing money to meet the position that has arisen in consequence of the Butter Committee's recommendation.

Clause 4 prescribes new rates of succession duty' as follows: —Successor, wife, present scale, exemption £20,000, 2 per cent. on balance; proposed scale, exemption £IO,OOO, to £20,000 2 per cent, £20,000 ana upwards 4 per cent. Present scale, successor, husband, exemption £2OO, over tia 1 per cent.; proposed scale, exemption £so«s £SOO to £ISOO 1 per cent.. £ISOO to £2500 2 per cent, £2500 and upwards 3 per cent. Successor, child, present scale exemption £SOOO, over £SOOO 2 per cent.; proposed scale, exemption £IOOO, £IOOO to £SOOO 1 per cent., £SOOO to £IO,OOO 2 per cent., £IO,OOO to £15,000 3 per cent., £15,000 to £20,000 3i per cent., over £20,000. 4 per cent. Successor, brother or sister, present scale, exemption £2OO, over £2OO 5 per cent.; proposed scale, exemption £SOO, £SOO up to £20,000 5 per cent., over £20,0C0 10 per cent. Successor, other relatives, , present scale, exemption £2OO, over £2OO 5 per cent.; proposed scale, exemption £SOO, £SOO to £IO,OOO 5 per cent., over £IO,OOO 10 per cent. Successor, strangers, present scale; exemption £2OO, over £2OO, 10 per cent.; proposed scale, exemption £SOO, £SOO to £20,000 10 per cent., over £20.000 20 per cent.-'. The flat rate charge of 5 per cent, gift duty is replaced by a sliding scale. For gifts of from £IOO to £SOOO the duty is 5 per cent.; from £SOOO to 10,000, 7i per cent.; over £IO,OOO, 10, per cent, of the value of the gift in each case. The Bill proposes that estate duty shall commence to be charged when the final balance cf the estate exceeds £IOOO. The present exemption is £SOOO. A comparison of the schedules gives the-'following' result : «.

The present scale continues to rise, and reaches 7 per cent, on an estate of £20,000 to £25,000. The new rate for such an estate is. 9 per cent. The present rate on an estate of £50,000 is S 2-3 per cent., and the new rate is 14 per cent. The present rate on an estate of £BO,OOO is 10 -2-3 per cent., and the new rate is 17 per cent. The maximum rate of estate duty under the present law reached on an estate of £145,000 is 15 per cent.; the new maximum is 20 per cent., reached on an estate of £IOO,OOO.

Balance of estate. Present duty. H ew duty Pe :r cent. Per cent £500 • to £1000 .. 1 Nil . £1000 to £2000 .. 2 1 £2000 to £3000 .. 2i 2 £3000 to £4000 .. 8 3 £4000 to £5000 .., ... . .. 3 J 4 £5000 to £6000 .. 3§ 4 £6000 to £7000 .. 4 5 £7000 to £8000 .'. 4J 5 £8000 to £9000 .. 4§ 6 £9000 to £10,000 .. 5 6