“BROKEN PROMISES”

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19099, 21 August 1936, Page 5

“BROKEN PROMISES”

GOVERNMENT TWITTED LIVELY CROSS-TALK TAXES WTLL EE REDUCED (Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. When Mr. W. J. Poison (Nat., Stratford) took advantage of the wide opportunities of the Imprest Supply Bill in the House of Representatives to ask questions about alleged broken Government promises, he provoked some lively cross-talk with the Prime Minister, the Rt. lion. M. .T. Savage. The sales tax was to come off at once, said the member, quoting what he described as pre-election promises. “No one ever said the sales tax would -come off at once,” interjected the Prime Minister. Mr. Poison: Will you deny saying that taxation should be reduced, and not increased?

The Prime Minister: We will reduce taxation all right when we get rid of the rest of the mud the honourable gentleman has left. He added that, comparatively speaking, the income tax was lower than prior to the election. Mr. Poison: I don’t think the honourable gentleman can escape by a

subterfuge. The Hon. 11. T. Armstrong: We arc working on a percentage basis. (Laughter).

Mr. Poison: It was not a question of removing mud, but that the first t hiiyj was to reduce taxation. The Prime Minister: I did not say that was the first thing to be done. The first thing was to remove distress, whoever paid for it. The member for Stratford suggested that another bit of electoral. chloroform might be examined. One of the early things promised was to remove the exchange, which the Prime Minister knew could not be done, and guaranteed prices were to be paid, not only for butter fat, but for other things this year.

Mr. Speaker intervened to quote a former ruling which showed that the member was travelling outside even the wide lines permitted by the imprest measure, and this brought Mr. Poison’s survey of promises to an end.