HIGH TAXATION DEPLORED

Chronicle (Levin), 29 October 1946, Page 4

HIGH TAXATION DEPLORED

"PITILESS EXTORTION" £AYS MR. MAHER "Members of the Labour Party constantly assert that taxation cannot be reduced without a policy of sacking public employees. That only betrays their own ignorance,'.aid "the National candidate for Otaki, Mr. J. J. Maher, speaking to an enthusiastic gathering of 120 electors at Paekakariki on Friday night. "It is a very long time since I was a boy at school, and I did not have very much schooling when I was a boy, but there is one history lessopwhich I then learned, and still remember. William the Ccmqueror ahd the Norman Kings who follow"Jd after him were extortioners just ike the Labour Government. They jxtracted the utmost possible by vay of taxation from their subjects, Then Henry II came to the throne of England. He had more brains chan his predecessors and he reduced taxes. However, he got more revenue from the lower taxes than his predecessors got by taxing it extortionate rates. The relief he gave to his subjects increased production, trade and prosperity, and consequently the lower taxes jroughr in more money. "When I was a young man, Sir Joseph Ward was advocating universal penny postage. He was told ,hat the resultant drop in po'stal revenue would be disastrous, but he went ahead with his ideas and instituted universal penny postage, The turnover of the post office went up enormously and its financial position was unimpaired. "The present high rates of taxation restrict effort and production, it is against humane nature to work hard merely to pay more to che public extor-tioner. The y^orking man does not like to work overtime and have Mr. Nash gobble up the extra wages he earns. This affects e very one in the community. Nobody can afford' to undertake a speculative venture, because he knows .that if it succeeds he will have to pay most of his winnings to Mr. Nash, while if he loses Mr. Nash will leave him to cry alone. "This excessive taxation makes ordinarily decent an£L honest people into tax evaders. If taxation was moderate and reasonable such people would not seek to evade it. However, they feel now that Mr. Nash is robbing them, and they feel justified in adopting all sorts of dodges to avoid what they consider an unjust exaction. "I say make taxation reasdhably moderate and just, and you will get more revenue than you will get by pitiless extortion."