LAND AND INCOME TAX.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4713, 3 August 1893, Page 1

LAND AND INCOME TAX.

REPORT OF" THE COMMISSIONER. (>BOM OUB fi.iWtfiZi CO»BBSPO2TDENT.] WELLINGTON, August 2. An interesting report fey Mr Crombie, Commissioner of Taxes, •on the results of the Land and lncone Tax tyatem, has'been presented to the House, bringing the figures down to June- 30 last. < This shows the total collected under the Land and Income Tax Act to be i 574,088, contributed by 15,320 persons and 4&6 Companies. The results are compared with those attained under the Property tax in 1889, which were as follow: — 25,841 persons and 486 companies contributed JJBS4;IG?. 7 (The amountrealised under the ordinary Eanatftx is £232,581 ; graduated Land tax*Js&?JßßQ t and Income tax £73,627). j* r wllTbe Been that the tax assessed to persons under the Land and Income tax system ia-£B9UJ leBS than the Property tax assessed to-pereone, and the tax assessed to companies is £23,834 more than the Compaa&a- were assessed for under the Property tax- ;; the total result of the Land and Income-taxes exceeding the result of the Property. tax by £19,921. . i -] ? The report proceeds to state as follows: —"The attempt, to collect Income tax without having branch offices in the three principal cities may be said to be still under trial, and it may yet be found necessary to have resident officers in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin. Nothing will be done in this direction until the present Bystem has been further tried; the Chief Postmasters throughout the Colony will in the meantime act as officers for the Department. To a certain extent in Income tax matters some of the Chief Postmasters have already given valuable assistance. Introducing the InconWtax on a new system was inevitably' a difficult task, and the taxpayers had necessarily many doubts as to the manner in which returns should be compiled. The amount collected up to June 30,^73,627, must not be accepted bb final,' though at .present a reliable estimate-, cannot be -, given as to the additional tax likely to be received. The' 'Amending Land and Income Assessment! Bill,, which will be introduced shortly, will contain provisions setting at rest some d6nbt3 as to the interpretation of the Act/ and further powers will be asked to be granted to the Commissioner to obtain information respecting the completeness and accuracy of returns of income.. It has ' been found necessary to obtain such, powers as regards both Land and Income taxes." After reference to the smallness of the Income tax returns, which is attributed to the large exemption of .£3OO, and to that exemption applying to each partner, and the classification of taxpayers under a new system by occupation or designation, and of Companies according to the business carried on, the results being contrasted with those of the last Property tax assessment in 1888, the report proceeds as follows r— " Under both systems the largest contribution ia by grazieru, sheep-farmers, dairymen, &c, that is, by owners of country lands, the total for the Land and Income tax being £89,341, and for the Property tax £81,544. The number of Property tax payers was 8611, and the number of Land tax payers is 4760, who are assessed for ordinary Land tax, £60,203; 766 are asteaaed for graduated Land tax, £28,015, and 9-7 are assessed for Income tax, £1123. In considering these and other results it should be remembered that some who pay Graduated tax do not pay Land tax, but it may be taken to be the rule that land taxpayers include those -who pay the Graduated tax, and the number of the latter is therefore omitted in these com* parisons. Further, some of those who pay Land tax also pay Income tax. Land Companies (15) were assessed for Property tax £12,049, and Land Com* panics (19) were assessed for Land tax £16,579, and Graduated tax £15,232, which, with Income tax £396, makes up £32.207, which shows an increase of £20,158 in the present, as compared with the late system. Loan Companies contribute £30,923 for Land and Income tax, againßt£3B,l47f'or Property lax; Life Insurance Companies £11,790, against £11,749; Fire and Marine Insurance Companies £8279, agaiDst £6652; banks £10,184, against £14,244; Mercantile Companies ' £16,302, against £9384 ; Manufacturing Companies £754-9, against £3784 ; manufacturing and mercantile £5622, against £5807 ; coalmining £1425, against £1498; gold-min-ing (23) £2735, against (113) £2545. Building Societies pay £1987, and were not assessed for Property tax ; Church Property Corporations and Trusts £2736, against £2046. In the amounts paid by persons, the table shows that, as the real totals contributed in various classes under the two systems do not differ very materially, excepting in the class including " working storemen, mechanics, labourers, shepherds, miners, Bailors, &c," 2242 paid Property tax £4053, and 249 paid Land and Income tax £543. Further interesting details are given in tables attached to the report.