"MOST DISAPPOINTING."

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16813, 16 August 1922, Page 7

"MOST DISAPPOINTING."

BUSINESS MAN’S CRITICISM OF THE BUDGET.

‘‘Most disappointing,” was the comment of a well-known Christchurch business man, when seen this morning and asked for an opinion on the Budget. “ The outstading item of interest in the whole Budget from the point of view of the general public is a little table showing the growth of expenditure since the year 1913-1914,” he said.

‘* In that year the expenditure was £11,825,864. In 1921-19*22 the expenditure was £28.466,838. In the interval the charge for interest ami sinking fund on the public debt had increased from £2.708.782 to £10,857,185. Allowing for this increase, and setting it on fine side, the ordinary expenditure of the country has increased from a litle over £9,000*000 to £17,500.000—an increase of very nearly 90 per cent. In the same period the population has increased by less than 20 per cent.

‘‘The fact that faces everybody is this: that while many departments are doing less business than formerly, the;/ are carrying larger staffs; that the number of Ministers has been greatly increased; and that the number of departments has greatly increased. Th° result is that the country has to pay the salaries of more Ministers, more heads of departments, more sub-lieads of departments, more chief clerks and of more secretaries. Nobody acquainted with the manner in which the work of the country is being done would suggest for a minute that it is done more efficiently or more thoroughly than used to be the case prior to the war. “ Personally, I have had a great deal of faith in the ability of the Prime Minister to bring about a better state of affairs: hut, like many another man. V am bitterly disappointed. The business community is crying out for relief from the burden of taxation that is crippling industry and commerce. There is no possibility of the normal expansion that should have come after the inevitable stagnation of the war period. Instead of setting to work to help the business community to in

crease production the Government is pursuing a policy of shackling industry and commerce: and it holds out no hope of release. “ The public do not realise the enormous extent to which the income tax and other taxation are responsible for the high cost of living. Company taxation is more oppressive in this country than in any other country in the world. It is quite impossible for any trading company in New Zealand to build up reserves of savings with which meet the growing population. Savings for investment in industrial expansion are now non-existent. This fact seems to have been ignored completely by the Prime [Minister, possibly because lie is farm and not city bred. But one would have thought that his advisers -who must be acquainted with the position-, would have led him in the right direc- ‘‘ The Budget is the mosjp disappointing I have read for thirty years,” continued the speaker. “It comes as a far greater shock than did the, radical Budgets of the early 90's, when the socialistic tendencies of the new Liberal Labour combination filled the whole business world with alarm. “ You may take it from me that the business community of New Zealand has a very sick feeling this morning,'’ lie concluded.