MUNICIPAL WAR TAX?

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2232, 19 August 1914, Page 6

MUNICIPAL WAR TAX?

AN INTERESTING DEBATE. (By Telegraph.-Special .Oorrespondentt . •■ ■_. Napier, August 18. An .interesting discussion took.place at to-days Napier Harbour Board meet.lng, as the ■ outcome of a' resolution moved by.Mr., J; .V. Brown, M.P.,.who" asked the board to vote £1000 to the Patriotic Fund. Tho chairman, Mr. A. E.Jull, objected to the .proposal on the ground that local bodies should.not have"the power to levy rates that would be equivalent to a war tax. He knew that as the result of representations made, by some local bodies who desired ~to contribute to the cost of the Expeditionary Force out of their funds, legisla-j tion had been introduced enabling this to be done, but jje did not consider that the proposition was at all a eound one. It would mean that in a distnot like this where the. townspeople woro rated double as much as thosein %3 country the former would be asked to pay more to the fund without any consideration as to . what, they could afford.. Only one,body, the Government, sliould have the power "to imposea war tax. He considered that the local bodies would be doing the best possible thing if they kept their various works moving and thus prevent stagnation in the labour market. All tho other members, with the exception of Mr. Brown,, were opposed to the motion, which was defeated, onl/ the mover voting for it. t The board decided to maintain its present works and to spend an additional sum during the next few months with a view to "keeping things going." , '