SUPER-TAX ON LAND

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17241, 24 April 1930, Page 6

SUPER-TAX ON LAND

RESULTS ANNOUNCED EXTRA £250,000 OBTAINED PREVENTION OF HARDSHD? (Special to the Herald.) ROTORUA, this day. The results of the super-tax placed on land, and the income tax on farmers, are contained in the statement issued to-day by the Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward, who emphasises that the Government was faced with the necessity of obtaining more revenue, and that this appeared to be the most equitable method of securing it. The provision of a hardship clause, he maintains, obviated any possibility of an undue burden being placed on individual taxpayers.

"As additional taxation was unavoidable last year the Government endeavored to place the additional burden equitably, and at the same time to create as little disturbance as possible in business and trade in order that the economic progress of the Dominion should not be hindered," says the Prime Minister. "As it was considered that the large farming incomes had not borne their fair share of taxation iii recent years.a special land tax was imposed on large rural estates with an unimproved value of over £IO,OOO. Large farming incomes were also made assessable for income, tax, but subject to a set-off of the amount paid in land tax. In order to ensure that the special land tax should hot impose undue hardship in particular cases provision was made in the legislation for a special hardship commission to which landowners were at liberty to state their case. This commission was given an entirely free hand by the Government, which has accepted its decisions in all cases. As a result the special land tax has been wholly or partly remitted in a number of cases.

"In matters of taxation, as in many other things governed by arbitrary rates, absolute justice can never be completely attained, but the provision for appeal in the ease of the special land tax at least prevented undue hardship being imposed on particular individuals.

"After deducting remissions amounting to nearly £IOO,OOO, the special land tax brought in about £250,000 additional revenue'.

PRIMAGE RETURNS UNDISCLOSED "The data obtained from the income tax returns of large farming incomes has not yet been fully analysed, but it is clear that the contention contained in last year's Budget that large farming incomes have not in recent years carried their fair share of taxation was in accordance with the facts. This is proved by the fact that a considerable amount —the definite figures not being available —was derived from income tax on farming incomes, after deducting land tax, both ordinary and special. This means that previously some farming incomes were contributing less than half of their fair share of taxation. It will thus be seen that the Government was quite justified in placing part of the necessary additional taxation on this section of the community." "To provide the balance of the additional revenue that was required to bridge, the gap between the estimated revenue and expenditure for last year, the primage duty on imports was.increased from 1 per cent, to 2 per cent. The primage, of course, is purely a revenue duty imposed upon practically all imports, whether dutiable or not, so obtaining the additional revenue through this channel meant spreading the burden equally over the whole community. "The additional impost on individual classes of goods from a retail point of view is practically negligible, but ev«*n so the Government did not desire the tax to remain upon food any longer than was absolutely necessary. Accordingly it was provided in the empowering legislation that the additional primage duty on foodstuffs, and also on manures, was to be lifted automatically on March 31, 1930. Accordingly, all such goods are now subject to th« normal 1 per cent, primage only. In regard to the additional primage duty on other classes of goods, it is prescribed by the Customs Amendment Act, 1929, that this may be terminated at any time now by Order-in-Council. It is not usual, however, between Parliamentary sessions to make any foreeast as to what will be done regarding Customs taxation, and I do not Intend to make any pronouncements cencerninfr it at this juncture. The matter will be dealt with when the whole of the financial proposals for the current year are finally under review."