NEWS AND VIEWS.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume XXIII, 15 May 1922, Page 5

NEWS AND VIEWS.

FROM THE CAPITAL CITY. THE TAXATION COMMITTEE SCOPE OF INQUIRY. (From Our Own Correspondent). Wellington, May 13. The members of the Committee appointed by the Government to inquire into the “taxation of the Dominion of New Zealand in all its aspects,” of which Mr J. Bitehener, M.P., is a member in farming interests, held their first meeting on Monday and after listening to a brief address from the Prime Minister, electing Mr W. D. Hunt chairman, and agreeing to an outline of the work to be undertaken, adjourned for a fortnight in order that the information required from the State Departments might be collected and that organisations wishing to submit evidence might have time to prepare their statement. Tn the official report of the proceedings supplied to the Press it is indicated that the Committee would, prefer to have evidence and suggestions submitted by typewritten statements “as far as possible,” but this is not taken to mean that verbal evidence would be unacceptable. It is hoped, indeed, that the authors of written statements will attend in person if convenient, so-that members of the committee may have an opportunity to interrogate them. Mr D. G. Clark, the Commissioner of Taxes, will sit with the Committee presumably to look after the interests of the Treasury-. THE COMMITTEE’S TASK

The address delivered bv Mr Massey to the Committee was not for publication, but it is easy to imagine its general tenor. The Prime Minister provided every reasonable facility in the way of setting up. the Committee, and doubtless he will be glad to have the advice and assistance of such a representative body of commercial men and producers in solving the extremely difficult problems that are confronting him at the present time. But he is not going to allow the Committee to dictate the amount of taxation to be levied, nor to determine its incidence. With huge declines in the Customs revenue and the income tax revenue, the Minister so far from relieuing the country of any part of its present burden will be extremely lucky if he can avoid adding materially to its load. The most that can be expected from the Committee is a practical scheme for the readjustment of the burden. This and the reduction of expenditure, which seems so far to have scare,.

fulfilled Mr Massey’s expectations, present the only hope for the immediate future. CONFLICTING ELEMENTS. The personnel of the committee has not been received with universal approval here. The idea of setting up such a body originated, as already explained, with a group of business men, who had in mind; rather the provision of information than the discussion of policies. But when the heads of the Farmers’ Union heard of the suggestion they clamored for representation, and after Mr Massey had acceded: to their demands the Labor leaders proceeded! to put in their claims. The Minister ’s discreet reply to Mr Holland and 1 his friends was that he thought it would be better for them to consider the matter apart from the other interests. Later a representative of the Law Society and a representative of the Accountants’ Society were included in the list and acoording to ai fairly well-informed count of heads it now looks as if two opposing schools of thought on the taxation question were just about evenly balanced on the Committee. However this may be, it appears tolerably certain there will be two reports and that the Government and the public will be invited to examine the various problems involved from two opposite points of view.

IN THE INTERVAL. Meanwhile, with the possibility of additional taxation looming ahead, the public is beginning to take additional interest in the Government’s economy campaign and lending a less ready ear to complaints of staff reductions, lessened services and so forth. The main complaint in this respect heard in the city now is that the Government is not proceeding fast enough with the enforcement of its retrenchment policy and that temporary war departments with their temporary heads and temporary hands continue to swell the national pay-sheet and lean heavily upon the sorely perplexed taxpayers. It has been stated, publicly that one of these departments still is costing the country nearly £BO,OOO a year and that the distribution of its functions among the permanent departments to which they naturally would fall would save every shilling of this considerable sum. And this, well informed people state, is by no means an isolated instance.