TAXATION.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 160725, 11 August 1920, Page 11

TAXATION.

DEMAND FOB REVISION. NO CHANGE THIS YEAR, (Be Telegraph—Special to “Herald”). WELLINGTON, August 10. The appearance of the annual taxing Bill, providing for the assessment of land and income tax, created quite a Ions? discussion in the House to-day, in spitfe of a prompt declaration by the Minister of Finance that it was an old measure involving no change. The tenor of the discussion was to emphasise that owing to the present injustice in the incidence of taxation, there ought to be a revision of the taxation system. Mr Massey explained that the Finance Committee of the House was considering taxation proposals, and j would report about a week hence. There would be no change in the laud and income tax this year. A portion of the Government’s fresh taxation proposals were before this Committee, and later in the session a comprehensive Bill, dealing with the land and iucgmc tax, incidence of taxation, and amendment of the death duties would he referred to the Finance Committee. Thus there would be lots' of opportunities to deal with the incidence of. taxation. Mr Yeitch suggested that the Government was preaching economy, but it was not possible among the mass of the people, because they had nothing t-o squander. Yet the wealthy people escaped so lightly that they could go in for extravagance. The Government proposed to take six and a quarter million from the people iu customs and excise dutv, or an increase of a million sterling over last Year. If to this sum was added the usual merchants’ profit, it would be seen that the Government proposed to collect from the head of an average family something like 25s per week. Yet the proposed increase iu the land tax was trifling. It looked as if the House was being delayed and kepu doing minor work while the law draughtsmen were completing Bills for which they got instructions too late. Mr Parry estimated that the Customs taxation paid by the worker with two children totalled 121 per cent of his total earnings, though the average income tax was about 3 per cent of a wealthy man's income. Mr Statham pointed out that another year was being Ipst if the present Bill was put through, perpetuating all the old injustices. He regretted that the Government failed to bring in its taxation reforms before the annual taxing Bill was introduced. Dr Newman supported the last speaker’s proposal, declaring that the Government admitted the injustice of the old plan of taxation, but wanted to go on iu the same old way. Several Labour members advocated State appropriation of a substantial proportion of the increment in land values. The discussion ended without furthel Ministerial enlightenment about the Government's future taxing policy.