PAYMENT OF LEVY

Waipa Post, Volume 42, Issue 3305, 4 June 1931, Page 4

PAYMENT OF LEVY

HEAVY COST OF DELAY.

NO ESCAPE FOR DEFAULTERS. Magistrates in all parts of the Dominion are inflicting substantial fines upon men who have persistently refused to pay the due instalments of the unemployment levy, and those who have pleaded that they overlooked the payments have also been fined. There have been about 50 prosecutions so far, and in every case convictions have been recorded, with costs adding considerably to the penalty. Magistrates have stressed the fact that payment of the levy is a civil duty just as payment of income tax or any other tax is, and failure to pay within one month of due date is a breach of the law. In addition to those who have already been fined for failure to register or to pay the levy, the police have been furnished with lists of people in districts from the North Cape to the Bluff who have not fulfilled their duty, and these individuals will shortly receive unexpected visits as a reminder to make amends.

Some people may be feeling secure in their immunity, but if they could inspect the system organised by the Postal Department for the discovery of those who have not registered, and for the prosecution of those who have not paid, they would realise that their fancied security is a delusion. There are infallible methods of ascertaining those who have not registered. It may take some time to locate all such defaulters, but discovery is inevitable, and when the day of reckoning comes they will realise that the accumlated levies and the fines, plus service and court costs, are unpleasant evidence of the folly of attempting to evade the law.

The wisest advice that one can give those who are hoping to escape payment of the levy is: Don’t cling to false hopes. Each month’s _ delay adds to the cost, and prosecution expenses may amount to anything from 10s to £lO.