SEVERITY OF AUSTRALIAN TAXATION
—« —■ — ATTITUDE OF QUEENSLAND PREMIER, At the annual general meeting of the Scottish Australian Investment Company, Limited, Mr- Frederick William /turner, chairman, said that he thought <ible afc tins point .to allude to the 1M friendly attitude towards Britißli..capital invented in Australian industries which had,"of recent years,, growji up„in certam sections of the Australian community. There was o failure to reoogmse the immense amount of good which such, companies as theirs had done and doing in providing- the njea.ns and the energy for settling the lands of the county cultivating its soil, providing homes, work, and wages for Its people, and. turning areas that were waste into fruitful districts. The capital that was thus emploved was too often regarded os a subject for easy taxation, rather than m a beneficient element in tho = nroere'"!. To taxation, moderately and equitably imposed, no oto could reasonably object, but wlieii influenced by the unfriendly tendency- thfit .lie;.liad mentioned it'became a very dangerous weapon and he wanted to call the attention, of the shareholders to the existence of (his danger as a matter requiring and receiving tho careful attention of the board and management. Further, they had had in Queensland tb contend with a veij serious effort by the present Premier of that Plate to destroy by legislative action n, vital point in the leases granted to pasoralists and others by the Crown... These leases contained clauses for the peiiodi'al revision of-the s, Inmting such revision to 50 per' cent, increase o; er the rental of tbo-next preceding period. 1 By tliis means n eafetfuaul foi ilie holder against an; unlimited increase ol liis rent was provided- The Premier, Mr. livan, had three times rassed Bills in.the Lower House to abolish tins hnntaticm. These Bills had been each tunc defeated in the Upper House. Mr. Eyan, in order to enforce his purpose, had passed B lis to abolish the Upper House, which had also been lost, and lie had taken a referendum with the same object in. view, but this also went against Into. - He. was now trying to achieve lus; purpose of neutralising the opposition of the Upper House by other methods. He (the chairman) could not go more fully into tho i details of these matters. He only louch- . Ed them slightly, as lie desired that the . shareholders stwuld know of thisi fin ther danger to British, capital, and that the . board were strenuously resisting it. _ 110 i hoped that ultimately the more.. justlhinkiiig portion of the Australiancommunitv would assert itself and put, a stop to the injurious action of the extremist section of the Labour and Socialist Parlies that were now doing so much mischief British common-sense would, |,e hoped, in the end prevail.
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Dominion, 14 March 1919, Page 5
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456SEVERITY OF AUSTRALIAN TAXATION Dominion, 14 March 1919, Page 5
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