THE TAXES OF THE PEOPLE OF NEW ZEALAND.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 874, 27 August 1879, Page 2

THE TAXES OF THE PEOPLE OF NEW ZEALAND.

This is from Mr. Curtis's address to theelectors :— Sir George Grey has- made, certain statements with regard to this' subject to which I ask your special attention. Whatever is the truth ought to be honestly told. If what he says id trtte it ought to be immediately remedied; and" I" am surprised that he has taken no steps to do so. I can only suppose that he had no faith in his own' statement. First he says, "Every morsel of food the poor man puts into his children's mouth? is heavily taxed. I am not specially learned in the food that children eat, but I will take the ordinary articles of consumption*. Is anything produced .in this country taxed ? Is beef ? Is mutton ? Is poultry, or fish, oc bread, butter, milk, or vegetables?' Surely children's foodis to be .found amongst these* If Sir George had that not a morsel of their food was taxed he would have been nearer to the truth. Again he says that the head of each family of the 1 working pays £20 a year as taxes. I would ask you, when the man earning £2 a week has paid for his rent and firing and articles of food, has hd enough left to pay £20 a vear as taxes. He id only; or principally, taxed through the Customs duties, and if he pays £2 or £3 to these it is a3 much as he does. Then he says that the poor man pays more then the rich. Does it not follow as a necessity that a man with £300 a year pays more than ho who has only £100, he that has £400 more than the one with £300, and so on. I say that the statement that the poor man pays more than the rich one is utterly untrue. I know-^thjw are persons to whom these stateme^H are not acceptable, but in comt^H justice I ask them to listen to and th^H over them. Every man, so far as^H spends his income, contributes to _^H revenue accordingly. Savings of^H kinds, whether in Banks or other^H invested, are free from taxation, an^H is these which, have to be, reached. tax land only is most unfair, for e^H kind of property or income sh^H contribute its fair share. I want to^H your attention'j specially to those st^H ments of Sir * George Grey's that poor man is being robbed and pays n^H taxation than the rich. one. . W^H stamps, legacy and succession diti^ fl| paid almost exclusively by the ri^H One estate in Wellington the other c^M alone paid £40,000 in these dutS What I wish Jto say in. regard to th^H wild assertions is that they are utte^H simply for party purposes, for the p^| pose of exciting bitter animosities l^H tween classes for his own advanta^l and that of his following, and in do^| this I consider that Sir George Grey i^M committed a great political crime, wh^H all his past services, however diat^H guished, cannot condone, and the pentance of along life can never effac^H