NEW DUTIES ON MOTORS

Taranaki Daily News, 15 October 1930, Page 11

NEW DUTIES ON MOTORS

CANADIAN CARS AFFECTED HIGHER PRICES INEVITABLE. OPINIONS OF MOTOR TRADERS. The last steamers to bring Canadian and American motor-cars into New Zealand under the old tariff have reached Dominion ports. All future shipments will be affected by the increased duties. These include vessels which arrived last week. It has not yet been announced when the increases will take effect. Cars at present in stock are being sold at the ’ old rates, the distributors beiuc fair to their customers. The agents will not bear the cost of the new duties. Until October has passed and the sales records become available it will not be possible to see how the motor-purchasing public is affected by the rise in prices. Certainly sales of American and Canadian cars are not expected to increase, but importers of British cars win be at an advantage. They have been affected least of all. The Canadian cars now carry no Empire preference and the duties on these have risen more ■ sharply in proportion than those on American cars. It is not generally realised- how large a proportion of American motor-cars has been partly manufactured in. Canada to comply with the British preferential tariff requirements. * One New Plymouth dealer, interviewed yesterday, suggested that the loss of this preference would cause the American principals to manufacture and ship for export direct from their American plants, regaining by mass production economies what has been lost to them on the tariffs. That would be harmful to a sister Dominion which catered extensively for the trade of Australia and New Zealand.

CHEAPER CARS WILL SUFFER. A majority of the lighter and cheaper American cars on the New Zealand market, it was stated, were partially built and assembled in Canadian factories. These will be raised out of their present price class. To give an indication of the amount of the increases in the price of certain American-Canadian cars it was stated that those selling at about £3OO would be advanced nearly £6O, those selling at £4OO by about £lOO, and those at £440 would now retail at £5OO. The decision of the Government to increase the duty on Canadian cars from 24 .to 55 per cent, in retaliation against Canada’s action in increasing the duties on New Zealand blitter will, the retailers'consider, be a serious matter for a large section of the motor trade, and may have far-reaching results. It is authoritatively stated that the increased duty on Canadian cars is viewed with complacency _ by, importers of American cars and with enthusiasm by the importers of English care. The trader dealing in American cars has been heavily handicapped with the competition of cars from Canada, and these cars will now compete on more even terms. The big. increase in the preference of cars from England will bring the price of English cars nearer to those of Canadian and American manufacture, and may increase the proportion of English cars sold on the New Zealand market.

EXTENT OF THE DUTIES.

The duties on ears have been increased by raising the ad valorem rate on American cara from 35 per cent, to 40 per cent., and increasing the body duties all round by H per cent. The primage duty, which last year was increased from 1 per cent, .to 2 pen cent., has been removed and in- ita place a surtax of. 9.40 of the total duty levied. The effect of this change is to reduce the cost of goods on the free list and to increase it substantially on goods paying a high rate of duty. A further alteration to the tariff made by Order-inrCouncil removed cars imported from Canada as British from the preferential tariff and provided a special duty of 35 per cent, ad valorem and 15 per cent, body duty on this class of car.’ Under the old tariff the rate of duty on -care from the United Kingdom was 24 per cent., from Canada 24 per cent., and from th’e United States of America 57 per cent. Under the new tariff these rates are increased, to 284 per cent. United Kingdom, 55 per cent. Canada, and 76 per cent. America. Meanwhile the motor traders affected, waitin <r to see what will happen, are generally not informed of the new prices and are reluctant to forecast the result. ....