PETROL TAX EASES ROAD FINANCE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18576, 26 September 1928, Page 4

PETROL TAX EASES ROAD FINANCE.

ACT WAS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE TO LOCAL BODIES, SAYS MINISTER. “ From the point of view of the local authorities, one of the events of paramount importance was the passing of the Motor Spirits Taxation Act of lost session, providing, as this new source of revenue did, a fund from which the construction and maintenance of the principal roads cf the Dominion could be financed without further increasing the already severe load which the local authorities were carrying in the way of local rates,” states the Minister of Public Works in his annual Statement. “ The increase of motor-cars, and particularly of heavy motor-lorries, in New Zealand, with its resultant wear and tear on the roads,” he adds, “ had made it evident that further income must be derived from some source other than the pockets of the ratepayers, and the decision of the Government that the user of the road should pay a larger proportion than had previously been contributed by him has, I am sure, met with universal satisfaction, even those wlio have to pay not maintaining that any unfairness exists. “In considering the question of road finance, it must not be forgotten that for many years before the motor vehicle was taxed for the upkeep of the roads local authorities and the Government had been forced to spend large and constantly increasing sums for the upkeep of the roads. To such an extent did this apply that from 1917 to 1927 more was spent annually per motor-car than was received in the whole period, and, as I stated when the Motor Spirits Taxation Bill was before the House something had to be done to give relief to rates. Naturally, this relief cannot be expected to manifest itself immediately. Quite a long period was necessary in which to examine into the comparative merits of various roads before they could be declared highways, and consequently the full benefit could not be realised this year; and, in any case, the revenue from the motor spirits taxation only began to flow into the coffers of the Treasury at the beginning of 1928. “ Since the' highways system was in augurated local authorities have been spending an undue proportion of their rates on the main highways, and as a result their less important roads—particularly those carrying in some cases little less traffic than the main highways—had fallen into a bad state of repair, and it • will take some time for this leeway to. be made up. I wish it to be clearly understood that the whole of the money derived from the motor spirits taxation was not intended for further road improvement, but a considerable proportion of it was intended for, and must be devoted to, the relief of the county ratepayers. That it will. have this effect is quite clear if we consider the case of any road where, for instance, the annual cost of maintenance was £SO per annum. Prior to the recent declaration of additional highways, this £SO would all fall on the local authority; since declaration as a highway, only £2O would fall on the local authority, and relief to that extent or in that proportion must have a beneficial effect on rural districts.*'