HIGHWAYS BOARD REVENUE

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24905, 19 June 1946, Page 8

HIGHWAYS BOARD REVENUE

PROPORTION OF TAX RECEIVED ANOMALY ALLEGED “The Main Highways Board is not getting the revenue to which it is entitled,” said Mr D. S. Mackenzie (Waipara County Council), when the No. 13 District Highway Council discussed highways funds yesterday afternoon. For many years the “New Zealand Motor World,” journal of the Automobile Associations, had been protesting against the injustice of the present arrangement under which only* 6d of Is 2.7 d tax on each gallon of petrol went to the Main Highways Board, the rest going to the Government, he said. An article in the journal pointed out that the board had been compelled to borrow about £12,000,000. If the full amount of petrol tax had been applied to highways it would have almost balanced this sum.

The chairman (Mr E. F. Evans) said that the Main Highways Board had done all it could to obtain a larger share of revenue. He did not know whether a repetition of the motion passed by the council last year would do any good. “Things are not right when the Highways Board has to borrow nearly £13,000,000 and the Consolidated Fund benefits by about the same amount from motorists’ taxation,” said Mr Mackenzie.

Mr Evans said that, in effect, the whole amount of taxation was paid into the Consolidated Fund. Eight per cent, of that allotted for highways funds went to local bodies for highways through towns of more than 6000 population and the other 92 per cent., went to the Highways Board. “Something may result from the Local Bodies Commission report,” said Mr Mackenzie, who added that he did not think another motion would change the situation.