ABOLITION OF TAXES

Southland Times, Issue 22297, 12 April 1934, Page 6

ABOLITION OF TAXES

PARTY’S PROPOSAL. EVIDENCE BEFORE MONETARY COMMISSION. (Per United Press Association.) Wellington, April 11. A plan for restoring land to people, the payment of full economic rent or the rental value of land minus all improvements, and the immediate abolition of the income and company tax, the unemployment charge and wage tax and certain other taxes advocated by the Commonwealth Land Party of New Zealand was further elaborated before the Parliamentary Monetary Committee to-day by the organizer of the party, Mr E. W. Nicolaus, Mr Nicolaus dealt with the weakness of the present system at length. Dealing with the new scheme, lie said, that on a day appointed the land should be proclaimed by Parliament to be restored to the people, and from that day the full economic rent or rental value of the land minus all improvements, should be paid to the Government in four equal instalments yearly. Taxes to be abolished immediately were the income and company tax, the unemployment and wage tax, stamp and transfer duties, the sales and travel tax and Customs taxation on all commodities necessary for the feeding, clothing and housing of the people and all materials and goods, machinery and means of transport. Further proposals, were that the railways and other social services were to be freed from the fictitious value attached to them and revalued on their present earning capacity and that all pensions were to be based on the average earnings of the labour after adjustment, a moratoium on all mortgages and overdrafts for a period of three months, all wage ■ agreements to be terminated and wages to be allowed to find their true level, all unnecessary Government departments to be shut down within three months, city and county revenues to be based on the new unimproved values and a moratorium to be given for one year on all loans where it is considered necessary. Mi - Nicolaus claimed that the first results of this charge would be an increase in trade and a decrease in unemployment and later an increase in shipping and in the export and import of goods and an increase in the growth of secondary industries. A great flow of capital into industry was also foreseen.