LAND TAXATION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12081, 9 August 1917, Page 4

LAND TAXATION.

THE GRADUATE!) SYSTEM UEVIEWETX TRICES TAX SUGGESTED. [From Our CortnKSPONnr.xT.] WELEIN'GTOX, Augost «• ''"Wo are making an ciwnimiiß mistake ia continuing ihe land tax with progressive lnvj«l tax,'' deelr.red Mr Anst,f-.v in th-> ccnirs,, of the. Einau<i.i! Debate, to-night. "Wo are creating anomalies, au.l niL-sing Hie main objecL of graduated taxation, which is to prevent undue aggregation and load to tho bursting up oi : largo estates. Thoro is no objifx-.t in putting on a graduated land tax U- burst- iipsniii.ll estates, but this ha- been done. ' As an instance how it, would operate unfairly, the. speaker naked the Unm;p,_ to take into consideration a holding valued at .€SOOO fn> of mortgage. Tim farmer would pay LXZ i-ax. Taking nn oxaotlv similar holding mortgaged to tlio, extent, of £J(H>O, tliis holder would, in addition to paying his rem, also pay LWo tax and £2OO per annum interest. Mr Wilford: Wliio.li comes off his income tax. Mr Anstev added that, owing to ihe Government's War Loan terms, the farmer, when tho mortgage vas renewed, would probably have to pay an extra L per cent interest. Tho land tax should 1)0 a Hat tax, applying also to ii]Ojti;:v(.',«s. Graduated tax should l>,- separate, imposed in an enlirely different way, and he In steep graduations on tho higher values, so as to make it impossible to hold large, areas. In view of requirements for the settlement; of returned soldiers, there was special need to -Jso tho graduated tax Z:, a bursting uj> tax. .Mr Anstoy .also criticised tho ineomei tax propo.sa.ls, considering that tho Government wa.i trying to raise too much money by it. it was a great mistake to apply the: graduated tax to companies in tho same way as to individuals, seeing that it would betaken from shareholders wh.> might bo of small means- Exemption should bo reduced to £2OO, with exemption in too eas'e of marriage. .Income tax was becoming so heavy that it would crush out some people who ought to be encouraged. War profits were almost exclusively due to excess war prices. Tho Government should strike at the root, gutting tho tax from the peopio who got tho high price, instead of allowing it to go into private hands, then chasing it and getting hardly anything. Ho was opposed to an export tax, but there was a better plan, that of taking a portion of excess prices direct. A penny takon off the price' of wool would ses'.iro iTBO,OOO, without discouraging production, and costing little to collect.

Sir Joseph Ward; "Would thai; not bo an export tax? Mr Anstey: No. It would bo from the excess price. We did take a little off the price Last year, as wool buyers were in Now Zealand ready to pay up to 20 per cent more than iho Imperial Government took the whole clip for. The speaker strongly objected 10 tiro increased tea tax, urging a greater tax on spirits and articles of luxury. It was mighty bad finance to eneourago the importation of luxuries in order to get. Customs revenue. The time was ripe for a substantial tax on motor-cars, which did such destruction to roads. The best method would bo a, tyro tax, allocated among local bodies for maintaining main roads. ...