TAXATION.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20184, 12 March 1931, Page 8

TAXATION.

NEW MEASURES UNDER REVIEW. i BALANCING NEXT YEAR'S „ ' BUDGET[THE PRESS Special Service.] WELLINGTON, March 11. ' Although tfre ■ Prime Minister previously intimated that general taxation proposals would not be brought down until the normal session of Parliament in June, plans for the emergency session which opened .to-day embrace measures providing for increased taxation, the nature of which has not y®t been disclosed. \s v , ; - Mr Forties has already stated that in order to meet a prospective den? 1 :* of £4,500,000 in the next . financial year the Government requires approximately . £860,000 from direct and indirect taxation. Part of this he intends to obtain by an alteration of the income tax schedule/ which he considers is the most equitable source of additional revenue, because it has the least effect upon working costs. Definite proposals have not yet been formulated, and are not likely to be brought down until after the House has disposed of the Finance Bill dealing with wage reductions. 1 "It will depend upon how the House deals with the wage reductions as to how much wo will require troif extra taxation," Mr Forbes said this' evening. '•'We must deal with the taxation proposals thig session, because we pror mised the country a decision as to what we intend doing to adjust the finances. Taxation , increases are part of the policy of balancing the Budget, and must be disposed -of as soon as possible " Customs Tariff. ' Asked if the proposals embraced Customs amendments, Mr Forbes reiterated; his previous anxiety to keep any increase in indirect taxation as low as possible: in order that, the cost of living and the working costs of primary producers and business generally should not be increased. The necessity or otherwise of introducing an amended Customs tariff schedule was also governed by. the amount." of revenue forthcoming from the wage cuts and from the economies effected by ,the Economy Committee, which has been doing exceptionally fine work and which is now completing its investigations preparatory to presenting its findings to the Government. "We will not complete onr taxation proposals until we get the nrst part of the programme out of the way. Mr Forbes added. "But we want to deal with the whole finanoial situation before passing on to earthquake legislation."