ABOLITION OF SALES TAX

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27410, 24 July 1954, Page 10

ABOLITION OF SALES TAX

SOAP PRICES TO DROP BY 7P

REDUCTIONS AS GOODS COME TO HAND

“The manufacturers are certainly very pleased that the tax has been removed. The anomaly was that detergents were already free from it,” said the manager of a soap and candle company (Mr C, H. Shepherd) com-, menting on the abolition of sales tax on soap, announced in the Budget on Thursday evening.

Mr Shepherd said that the tax concessions would amount to about 7d on both bar and powdered soap. This meant that a large bar now costing 3s 7d would be reduced in price to approximately 3s OJd and a 31b packet of powder from 3s 6d to approximately 2s lid.

The reduced prices would come into effect only as grocers stocks were eliminated, said Mr Shepherd. This was because the grocer was entitled to his mark-up on goods already stocked. It would mean that there would be keen competition among grocers to get rid of the soap they had on their shelves.

Prices for soft drinks will all drop by Id a bottle, whether the drinks are consumed in the shop or taken away. The new prices are as follows: Quarts, Is 2d (Is 6d to take away); lOoz, 7d (lOd); nips, 5d (8d). The new prices came into effect yesterday as the result of immediate action by manufacturers of carbonated waters and official confirmation by Canterbury Fruiterers’ Association representatives in the afternoon. Milk bars and confectionery association members are expected to come into line. The new prices are for Canterbury, and Mid-Canterbury and South Canterbury.

Remissions of tax on hardware would make no appreciable difference to the cost of home-building because sales tax has been taken off most building hardware previously, said Mr W. R. Heney, managing director of a hardware firm. “Home users will benefit by a lot of the remissions but it will be some time before reductions can be made. That will be when new shipments come to hand,” he said.

Sports dealers had thought they might be allowed to take sales tax from consumable goods, such as golf balls and tennis balls, but they seemed “to have got the lot,” said Mr A. Dey, manager of a sports goods shop. “When our new goods come to hand prices will be reduced for both those and for present stock. We are losing money on it,” he said. It would cost dealers “a few thousand” but the remission would be a good thing in the long run, said Mr I. B. Cromb another member of the trade. Mr Cromb said the reduction on a 5s golf ball would “probably be about 9d.”

The president of the Canterbury Lawn Tennis Association (Mr J. K. Burtt) said that tennis balls which cost 8s 6d a pair would now cost 7s 4d as a result of the sales tax concessions.

The president of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association (Mr J. Bradley) said that the association was pleased with the provisions for the abolition of exchange control, the sales tax concessions and “the removal of income tax anomalies.” “It is a realistic budget containing something of interest for everyone,” he said. Mr R. H. McDonald, secretary of the Canterbury Trades Council of the Federation 'pf Labour, said that, in case his previous comment about changing the 'rate of exchange had been misunderstood, he would make it clear that he thought the Government might have considered “revaluing £ (New Zealand) 100 at £125 sterling.”