Death Duties

Press, Volume C, Issue 29513, 15 May 1961, Page 3

Death Duties

Sir,—A rebate on death duties w’ould go even further than Mr Barclay suggests. When the National Party repealed the Land Sales Act, land, property especially, doubled, and more than doubled, in money value. The owners did not turn a finger or spend a penny of savings to earn a fantastic increase in wealth (£60,000 in the case of a property I know). The question now arises: are the general public (working people, elderly pensioners, returned servicemen on pensions, widows, and invalids included) to be asked, through increased medical charges (which have already been paid for by the social security levy), increased electric power charges and postal charges, and the abolition of free schooi' milk and food subsidies. to pay rebates on death duties so that unearned riches should be kept intact? —Yours, etc., A. F. PALMER. Waimate, May 12, 1961.

Sir, —As one whose estate will certainly remain untouched by any government, however rapacious, may I put in a disinterested word for a reduction of death duties, which, after all, are only a legalised form of confiscation? Since those of your correspondents who have been sniping at the Government obviously do not belong to the “privileged" classes, it may be as well to remind them that envy is the hallmark of small minds, and that they* are over-sim-plifying the problem by merely wanting the other fellow to shoulder any financial burdens which this country may have tp bear. A number of really rich people are now living permanently out of England, because super-tax and death duties have been stepped up to outrageously high limits since the war. and this means simply that those particular geese will lay no more golden eggs. The sanje situation could well develop in New Zealand.— Yours, etc., LAZARUS. May 12, 1961.