THRFT AND ECONOMY V. TAXATION AND BORROWING.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 280, 7 August 1909, Page 10

THRFT AND ECONOMY V. TAXATION AND BORROWING.

( Sir,—Do' you t-]iat,".-at-.-■a ' time \vhen,business men.'of every shade'of political Opinion are .rdgaryfiig' "the reduced 'Customs revenue with, ; satisf action. us 'evidence "'of general .'return to habits of .thrift and eco-1 a'' hiember.'offtho 'Mitf -istryw go off On :a-borrowing espc'ditioivaiid ■ another-,, to assume... tho.'rolo, of- adeviser''of • uow. taxes? "•.,,/. ,■;.. ■'•;>. :-. ■ <'.-, -..-', v;'; 'l'he, roccfrt. activity of; the,Attorhoy-Geiie- - : ral,in' thei Jattcr."direction/is,; in itself: prob-i ;ably.:'harmlessjenough-.:.i\3-.a: lawyer-ho is' universally- regardedUwith .respcot, ;but -air a > politician, ho.is. essentially .of ;tlio'doctviuairo ■order/ vail unpractical• inen ;hia, 'obvious, anxiety 1 -to/put vhis ' name' to :somo : great'-'legal.;'reform:is -the only. prominent feat'iirp" of^is- political career." ft should /be sufficiuh't -to; remind .Dr.-. Findlay. 'of '.the' ro'-,! suit. r.oViho'. misplaced/.activity.' of ; a* .certain' 1 politicorlegal>'.. AttorneyiGonerai, C by : --,- namoj Hoy.-.who'three centuries" ago".revived the •obsolbte;..tax afterwards • notorious as shipmoney. -. '~•.:: v 'Jj r;'-'.,. "j.;?' l; .v. ~ >" 'i ' -." .' •' i';. ; ..ln;tinies,of!finahoial stress, a-.reduction in the quantity/ and:.value, of imported 'goods is : ■thoi surest and;.rnpst; potent element of cure, '. Unfortunately for. this :: country, its Primb Minister and Attorney-General appear to regard Tcductioirin.'Customs duties as an addi-' .'tioiial .imposition on an already tottoring Government-' In other words-; what the people 'regard;, as-' a relief..tho > Government re--. :■'■'■. :■';:•; ' i Sir.^pso^h / Ward.'goeß,>toj'Eiigland.,for the •pui'po'sc'iCriojv scarcely, even veiled) of arrang-' irig ;for "tlio..borrowing, of more.-money..to.pil \ tho'. wjieels ;■ of -'Liberalism.'j,'l'hp . Attorney-. General, 'in.his abs'elico,- sets, to .work.-to devise now taxesV-to.-nll.up the'deficiencies ..ih the Customs' il ■ \-Tlio;r»]joy: r at' v iuc]r^ country; with-, borrowed: money, and .thereby relaxing- the incentive to thrift; is i.no/les3 vicious than' the.polioy,tif penalising economy by contriving pert'-taxes; To;cOminont.further is obviously -.futile/' ;f<jr f ' from politicians;' who persist, in. attributing ( the /colony's financial troublos'f to.:;increasod-hal)its of thrift-.tin its peopkr nothing can be expected. -\- ■:.'<".. ■ "Will:-any'■man who.has given tho subject a MDonient's/thought affirm that tho death' tax'on life-insurance, policy moneys is a fair c-iio? '■'■• Yot ;\wj.'.lind' the Attorney-tjeneral'not, satisfied with the present imposition, devis-

ing now schemes to reach the man who, by insuring ilia lil'o in the name of tho person howishca tu benefit, saves tlic amount of tho tax to liis dependents. ; ; Fortunately • tho Attorney-General is nover likoly to bo taken, seriously cither by tho pcoplo as a whole or by tho Government of which ho is n nioinbor. , Unfortunately, on tho- other hatul, ho does appear to ho taken seriously by: his subordinates in tho Civil Service, and recent happenings point to'tha conclusion that taxing officers, aro taking thoir one from tho Attornoy-Gcneral. Few pooplo can havo read tho accounts of tho rccont petty insults to strangers at Auckland and Wellington without, feeling shonio at tho laws that made such things possiblo,. and regret nfc tho financial straits of,tho Government that sot thoso laws"in motion. At Auckland wo road an' uufortuiiato foreign tug-master was, not only compelled to ship eight mom men than tho navigation of his vessel required, 'hut beforo leaving was mulcted in tho sum of £'2 10s. for incomo tax on possiblo profits:; this in a venture that consistod of towing a singlo disabled ship 'acrosß to Sydney to relit. Again in Wellington, a few days ago, wo 'woro treated to tho sorry spcetaolo ,of threo officers of an English steamship heavily fined for_ having tobacco and somo othor dutiablo articles in thoir possession,- though no ovidciico; was adduced that tbby.ihad attempted to'land or soil tho goods. Lastly,,'thoro io beforo us tho report of tho trial and con-viction-beforo a Criminal Court of, tho mate of;-a local,trading steamer for venturing-,to tako pghorp to his liouso tlio Wedding gift of his brother officers.. ■ ' ■ That laws such as these \aro possiblo moat people know, that they aro on tho.Now Zealand Statute -Book :a fow peoplo know, but that "they, would' ever bo enforced for such, obviously innocent offences, not ono man in ten .thousand would havo believed. • The policy, .of thrift as .now practised by. tho .commercial.;.community, is the true euro for tho oyils from which wq suffer.'Tho policy of- increased borrowing.-' and .taxation as practised, by the Government is.'vicious,: and calculated-in the. long run to increase depression arid deepen disaster.,. The only hppo for'.'the colony and its. people is to re*' ntovo from -.office, men.whose only, notion of' statesmanship arid whoso last' resort 'in' cliffi-' ciilty .is. to borrow moro.money, -imposo mora taxation, and squander the proceeds to tlw last ponnv.—l am,; etc., •"., - ; ; .' S.M. ■-.- ' ■Wellington, August: 4, 1909. t