How Mr. Nash Appears To Mr. M. H. Oram

Chronicle (Levin), 14 October 1949, Page 3

How Mr. Nash Appears To Mr. M. H. Oram

Press AsseciationJ

(Per

WELLINGTON, Oct. 13. Besuming the debate on the Land and Income Tax Bill in the House of Representatives, Mr M. H. Oram deseribed Mr Nash as likely to go down in history as "the most rapacious and uneonscionable tax gatherer this country has ever had." Mr Oram eritieised what he termed arbitrary and unjust distinctions between "earned" and "unearned' J ineome and said such distinctions tended to bring the law Into eontempt. He said many anomalies and injustices in the income tax law remained to be corrected, The incidence of taxation was unsatisfactory, unfair and unjust. Mr T. P. Shand (Marlborough) eritieised the Minister of Finance as being too busy. Things which should be done this year were shelved until some vague f uture — perhaps they would not be done in the Minister 's lifetime. Mr Nash in a bief reply to the debate, said it was not eorrect to allege that the Government was shearing or fleecing the farmer. It was astounding what the farmer had left after income tax was paid. The Minister said that a lot more thought might be given to what the Sheep Commission recommended in regard to losses of stock through snowfalls on high country. The Bill was given a second reading, put through the reinaining stagej^ and passed. ; _ r