TAXATION COMMISSION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16496, 31 July 1924, Page 2

TAXATION COMMISSION.

WAS IT NECESSARY?

(Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day

Commissions are valuable, when it comes to collecting and sifting evidence, was the opinion expressed by Mr. •!. rRolleston (Tiniaru) in tho House, hut, he ventured to suggest to the Government that when it, came down to questions of methods of .taxation and conflicting theories, then members of Parliament, were quite competent to judge. He criticised confining the commission solely to- methods of taxation, contending 'that it should Jiax'e investigated expenditure. - It xvas wrong to compose it only of taxpayers. It, should have included a political economist, and a representative of Labor. He knew it xvas said political economists were only theorists, hut if the war did no other good it taught statesmen and others in high places a, little about political 'economy. He asked if it, was advisable for the question of the equity of the land tax to be decided by large land taxpayers? The commission had wisely stressed the inequity and anomaly associated "with company taxation, but there was no need to wait till 1926 to remove the injustice. It was essential to do so without delay,Lind if the Commissioner of Taxes was empowered to obtain th e necessary information from taxpayers lie could do so in a- couple oi months and report to Parliament before the session ended; In face of the unanimous report of the- commission that company taxation was unjust and anomalous it xvas not. wise to wait 1 ill 1926 lo remedy it.