DEFLATING VALUES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 803, 25 October 1929, Page 13

DEFLATING VALUES

EFFECT OF INCREASED LAND-TAX

DEBATE ON THIRD READING Press Association PARLIAMENT BLDGS.. Today. Speaking on the third reading of i the Land and Income Tax Amendment ] Bill in the House of Representatives i this morning, the Leader of the Op- i position, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, | stated that the effect of the measure I would undoubtedly be to reduce laud values from one end of the I Dominion to the other thereby I affecting the security of every man who owned land. The Bill did j not contemplate in any way the amount of land that could be ab- | sorbed without deflating values. Mr. j Coates declared the land or income- j tax, whichever the greater, principle, represented an intention to ignore | whether a year’s transactions had shown a profit or not. Mr. Coates then reviewed at length the attitude of the Reform Party, and j the points it had raised during the committee stage of the Bill. The leader of the Labour Party, Mr. H. E. Holland, asserted that the whole position was so full of humour that one longed for a Mark Twain or Artemus Ward to deal with it. The Reform Party had declared that it would fight to the last ditch, but all it had gained was the insertion of the words “on any fair and reasonable grounds whatsoever,” and the lawdraftsmen had stated that the alteration made no difference whatsoever. (Laughter.) Mrl C. A. Wilkinson (Egmont) said that he was disappointed with the United Party, and he would vote against the Bill on the third reading. He considered that the real Government of the country was the Labour Party. Mr. W. Downie Stewart rebuked Mr. H. E. Holland (Buller) for his attitude throughout consideration of the Bill, and alleged that the Labour Party had voted against its convictions. Mr. W. J. ‘Poison (Stratford) said that the Bill represented a decision to deflate land values. Surely the House had realised that by this time. The measure would affect every farmer in the country. He contended that the United Party had never placed the policy embodied in the Bill before the electors, and he added that he could not understand the Labour Party in supporting reductions of the mortgage exemption to £7,500. Mr. D. McDougall (Mataura) defended the Bill and stated that the Reform Party’s stand had been in the interests of the moneylenders. Mr. W. D. Lysnar (Gisborne) argued that many farmers had been saved from "going down” as a result of the Reform Party’s opposition in the committee stage. Mr. A. Harris alleged that the minority United Government had sacrificed its principles to accept the dictates of the Labour Party. The House adjourned at 12.45 till the ringing of the fcells.