TAX LIABILITY

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21199, 23 August 1940, Page 4

TAX LIABILITY

OTHER THAN WAGES ON LAST YEAR’S INCOME POSITION AT REMOVAL TIME (By Telegraph.—Press Association) WELLINGTON, Friday In an urgent question to the Minister of Finance, the Hon. W. Nash, in the House of Representatives today, Mr C. W. Boswell (Government —Bay of Islands) asked whether the Minister had seen articles in the press regarding the payment of national security tax, which created the impression that taxpayers other than wage earners were required to pay double tax for the current year. Would the Minis-* ter make the position clear? Replying, Mr Nash said there had been a certain amount of misunderstanding as to the extent of liability in cases of the nature mentioned by Mr Boswell, but the position was now fairly well understood. The national security tax was a special emergency tax payable for war purposes by all persons in receipt of income. A contribution in accordance with the annual income received was required from all this year. In the case of wage-earners, payment was made by deduction at the time of receipt of wages. In the case of persons with income other than wages, the liability to contribute this year was measured by the amount of last year’s income. This must necessarily be so, because in such cases the amount of the current year’s income was not yet known. There was no question of a double contributic/i by persons other than wage earners, because only one year’s tax was payable each year. When the tax was ultimately removed, the Minister continued, it would be removed from each class of taxpayer at the same time, with the result that all taxpayers would have paid in respect of their income for exactly the same number of years.