The Waikato Independent THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 1929. A PLEA FOR ECONOMY.

Waikato Independent, Volume XXIX, Issue 3103, 27 June 1929, Page 4

The Waikato Independent THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 1929. A PLEA FOR ECONOMY.

In the course of a speech at Newcastle recently, Lord Grey* of' Falloden made some references to the heavy taxation in New Zealand and • Great Britain, compared with that of other countries. Ho drew attention to the fact that British taxation 1 was at the fate of" -£l4 per head,.: arid' in New ;Zoas land the previous year it was £l2/5/6 (for' 1928 it was £li/:L.?/7, 'according to the Year Book). Lord Grey comparcd s these figures with £6 in the United States, £7 in France, and only £5 in Germany. He asked if anyone' really contended-that the country could carry that amount of taxation per head of population without being handiy capped in industry. Earl Grey made some comments that our New. Zealand politicians would do well*to 'remember. "You arc not going to improve credit," he said, M by increasing taxation. An improvement in credit which enables you to convert the debt and reduce the rate of interest upon it would save fur more millions than you would save* by merely imposing extra taxation. • Pay off a certain amount of debt by all means, combine both 'processes if .you' will, but the- second process' is going to bo by far the most relieving to. the country. You can only improve credit, by.getting surpluses; not by increasing taxations but -by reducing We can all see some ways in which expenditure might' be reduced, but -the Government have been completely foiled in all their efforts to; reduce expenditure. Other Governments may "say the, same as this, Govern-. Iment—that it has tried and simply cannot do it,-.Tie answer oil tjie country to this and any other Government must be, 'You -say you cannot; we say | h &t: you must.' • • It will be very but every Government is bound to be unpopular, arid if ; jnight be better to encounter unpopularity for doing a beneficent Jtliing-to the country than for persisting in a policy, that, it /knows is harjoful. It is just possible th,at a. .Government which'really :did y reduce expenditure, inij- "Improve credit might get some 'reward by finding there is enough common sense left in the country to appreciate the doing of a good thing. - There is this further thing: about . improved credit: ijt. makes it easier for business to 'expand/ and an expanding business needs capital. Credit makes it more easy for each privato business to raise capital at ft lower;, rate of interest, and so not only relieves, the burden of debt, but actually,, sets new business going. "