REDUCTION OF INTEREST

Taranaki Daily News, 17 October 1931, Page 6

REDUCTION OF INTEREST

MiR. WILKINSON’S ADVOCACY -VI ' - NO-CONFIDENCE AMENDMENT. CRITICISM OF TAX BURDENS. (By Wire —Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, Last Night. .Movincr his addition to the Labour no-confidence amendment in the House to-day, Mr. C. A. Wilkinson (Ind., Egmont) said a great responsibility rested upon, the members of the House as to the position they were -in and had to deal with. The responsibility rested to a large extent on individual members. ' ; - There should have been a reduction of interest charges by Act of Parliament as had been done in other countries. Every employer and. every farmer in the country was struggling along under a burden of interest charges. The Government was only proposing palliatives aiid was side-tracking the real issue. Holders of money values should be compelled, to agree 'to a general scheme of readjustment. Interest should be at one level. Renta also were too high, declared Mr. Wilkinson. Most of the rentals for buildings had been fixed by agreement when times were good and the people could afford to pay, and the time had arrived when the people who contracted to pay high rentals should, be relieved, of some of their obligations. Mr. Wilkinson referred briefly to the settlement of land and said that between Wanganui and Hawera there were acres of the finest land to be found in New Zealand, and there was scarcely a house to be seen. The land was eminently suitable for closer settlement, and he guaranteed that if members of Parliament paid a visit to the area they would insist on some drastic action being taken to settle it. There was urgent need for a complete investigation of the banking and currency systems. The problem was a complex one and he had no desire to dogmatise, but he felt there should be an investigation to determine what was the best system to meet the need of New Zealand. Systems which were in operation in other countries would probably be of little use in New Zealand. One problem alone that called for action was the coinage of silver. Ha had no complaint against the banks; they had always treated him generously, although always at a profit to themselves. (Laiightar). . . 1 . “The party system as we know it in New Zealand to-day does not appeal to me,” Mr. Wilkinson proceeded. _ “The people of this country pay a Parliament of between HO and 120 members and there is a general opinion throughout the country that they are not getting value for their money.” The present Finance Minister was the most remorseless tax collector New Zealand had ever placed in that office, Mr. Wilkinson continued: “That gentleman,” he declared, “seems to be absolutely obsessed with the fact that he must obtain revenue. In February of next year the people of . New Zealand will be called upon to pay £4,935,000 by way of income tax alone. Where is that enormous sum of money going to come from? Taxation will have to be met out of income derived during the year which ended on March 31 last, and much of the money has been dissipated. I venture to say that many of the people who have to pay the tax will have to borrow money from the banks.”