NOT ENDORSED.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume II, Issue 562, 27 November 1915, Page 12

NOT ENDORSED.

THE FARMERS' UNION PROTEST. INCOME TAX RETURN. A general topic of conversation among farmers who were gathered in the city this morning was the protest which the executive of the North Canterbury Farmers' Union made against the income tax return which the Government requires farmers to make. Generally, that protest was condemned. Enquiries which a Sun representative made amongst farmers and amongst commercial men who are closely in touch with the farming community showed that the criticism of the return which was made by members of the Farmers' Union Executive does not represent the views of the farmers of Canterbury as a body. Many farmers express keen regret at the statements made at that meeting. "Farmers generally look upon the statements which Messrs Sheat, Horrell, Leadley, and Evans made at the union executive's meeting, and the resolution passed by the executive, as merely an hysterical outburst," said one prominent and successful farmer to The Sun representative. "There are farmers who object to filling in the forms, but in the majority of these cases their objection is due to their being disinclined to state their profits or to their not wanting to go to the bother. In other cases the objection is simply due to prejudice, because this return is a new thing to them. Mr R. Evans's assertion that a third of the farmers cannot keep books, because they are not fit to do it, was a wild statement, which should not be taken seriously. Nowadays the up-to-date farmer keeps books, because he looks upon farming as his business, and he knows that he cannot carry on his business efficiently unless he can tell exactly how much return he is getting from each branch of his business. The farmer who does not keep books is either out of date or relies on carrying the details of his operations in his memory. Personally, I do not consider that the return is unreasonable in its demands, or that it is a matter of im-

possibility to fill it in. Those few farmers who do find some difficulty in filling in the form can easily obtain the assistance of an accountant or of one of the agency firms with which they deal. I'm a farmer, but I'm getting a bit tired of the squeal which goes forth from some of our alleged representative farmers every time that something new is introduced."