TAX ON LIQUOR

Southland Times, Issue 23888, 5 August 1939, Page 5

TAX ON LIQUOR

To The Editor Sir,—I think it will be admitted on all sides that as a community we can prosper and have much more pleasure from the use of motor spirit than from the use of spirituous liquors or drugs. The latter in particular is much more indulged in than many people are aware. But the use and abuse of either is the downfall of many fine characters, although drugs are the worst. People who get intoxicated get over it quickly. Not so the drug addict who is more worthy of our pity, as he usually becomes demented. I read in a local paper recently that our drink bill for New Zealand was £9,360,000. This works out approximately at £5/17/3 for every man, woman and child in New Zealand. Now seeing our women drink little in comparison with men and say the children are a quarter of the whole population and total abstainers are another quarter, the remainder are surely having a pretty constant swim, are they not? Now, sir, in the face of these facts, why couldn’t the Government have put a tax of say sixpence a gallon on all spirituous liquors and a tax on all drugs that return nothing but a small revenue and cause so many road accidents and domestic unhappiness. We get abundant pleasure out of the use of motor spirit and nothing but disaster from this abnormal expenditure on that which is no use or benefit to anyone. As a matter of fact it is quite the reverse.—Yours, etc., TAX THE DRUNK. August 4, 1939.