RACING AND TAXATION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 15874, 13 July 1922, Page 8

RACING AND TAXATION.

THE CONFERENCE'AND THE COM- ■ .MISSION'S REPORT. i _____ ; LOAD THAT IMPOVERISHES THE 1 CLUBS. /Special to tlie Herald.) WELLINGTON, this day. "Since wo last met in conference two ■ matters of grave importance have to be recorded," stated the president of the N.Z. Racing Conference in. his address to-day. He continued': The one which should have ranked as our greatest auxiliary in the improvement of the turf, was the report of the (.Liming Commission of 1921. The second .was the imposition of a burden of taxation |which threatens the very existence of many of our racing clubs. The Parliament of the Dominion bears the responsibility of the non-acceptance of the ! report, and is also blameworthy in re- ' gard to the extraordinary diversity of taxation which ingenuity has devised for ! ourv spoliation. The latter offence may more.easily be pardoned, as its effect is temporary in difiictilt times, relief is already promised, and its exaggerated j stringency must eventually work its ; own cure. The rejection of the report 1 was, however, a calamity, which there seems no prospect of rectifying. Great expectations were raised by the appointment of a Commission, and they were more than rcalisod when it presented a masterly, well-reasoned, and , fearless report. Jt winnowed the wheat from the. chaff with a. restrained justice, which met the approbation of all unprejudiced opinion. This conference, the legitimate voice of the racing community, almost unanimously . (31 to 4) expressed its approval, and urged the acceptance by. the Legislature of the Commission's recommendations. It is not too' much to say that the result was resented by all the racing world except by the few who allowed petty interests to outweigh the general good. What we now claim is that renewed consideration be officially given to each item of this masterpiece of suggested reform, and that it be not thus hastily thrust aside in obedience to the energetic clamor of so small a minority of interested opponents. Still more extraordinary than the suppression of the report is the acquiescence of those clubs which were directly or indirectly charged with irregular "conduct. Xo attempt at vindication lias been proffered. 1 have no pre-judgment, to pronounce, but I do say that it is the duty of such clubs to clear themselves from these charges, if false, or wipe away the inherent abuses resulting from them if.true. No club should rest, silently under serious imputations. There is a written and unwritten law in the realm of sport which cannot be safely disre- | garded. Passing, to the question of taxation 1 will confine myself to ligures, which tell their own tale without comment:

This is a load which not only im-* poverishes clubs directly; it injures them also by its discouragement of the owners, whose support is essential to their healthy existence. What we petition for is lenience to the weak, that they may escape from impending destruction, and an entire removal of all oppressive burdens as soon as the exigencies of the State permit it. Many of these forms of taxation, which lessen rather than increase revenue, could at once be judiciously abandoned.

£ s. d. Totalisator tax ... 150,694 15 5 Dividend tax ... ... 222,772 7 0 Fractions 9,939 19 8 Stakes tax ... ... ' 34,553 11 0 Tax on receipts 4,140 18 6 Amusement tax ... 12,750 8 5 Land tax 2,332 8 6 Income lax- ... 21,149 13 6 Total ... £458,334 2 0 Local rates paid 5,572 19 10 Grand total ... £463,907 1 10