PARLIAMENT.

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 14129, 4 July 1916, Page 4

PARLIAMENT.

MORTGAGE-TAX ABOLISHED.

WAY OUT OF DIFFICULTIES,

(Fi£oji Ocr Own Correspondent.)

WsiHngton, July 3. bevernl amendments- dealing witte' difficulties which arose while the Land and Income Ty* Biii was in Committee y.-ere introduced by Sir Joseph Ward m the House of Kepresentath es to> night. The Finance Minister, in tha coxn-se of expT«';ia E g thes? amendments, said that one point raised was relative to tho deduction of tho amount o£ v mortgages from land-tax, which was omitted from Uio B^ll as it wont.beforecommittee. He proposed therefore toinsert an alteration in clause 49 restoring exactly the. privilege now possessed by a taxpayer m deduction from tho xmimpj-oveW vrJ:?-? of his land of the amount; ou.tst;:r!r]ir;o j n respwt of mortgage. He ;'J.s-o proposed th'fca the exemptia>n of r:.artgagos from mortgagotax should be co:nti:nied, as he proposed ir. the first p],'K<\ Tliat was to say. if the legislation in the Bill v;as passed, mortgages would not be subject to taxation. The varknis concessions would mean from 5150.000 to £170,000. but after having -one carefully into the whole matter lie e:-q>acted to renew tho amount by savir'K expenditure to that e:\tent.

Further roiKiccratioa of the Bill in Committee was. ■completed, and the Bill was reported with amendments.

Tho Han so ivi>ornTied at 11 p.m