THE COST OF LIVING

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 296, 8 September 1920, Page 8

THE COST OF LIVING

MEMBERS SUGGESTIONS ADJUSTMENT OF TAXATION MR. MASSEY HOPES FOR REDUCTIONS

Iu moving the second rending of the Jjflatl and Income Tax (Annual Bill) the Prime Minister explained that this measure merely renewed the authority of the Government to collect land and income tax at the existing rates. In a very short tiniQ, he said, the Department would have to make its collection for tho year. The notices could not be sent out until the Bill went through, so that tho passage of tho measure was a matter of urgency.

Mr. Veifeh OVanganui) said that in hi? opinion a readjustment of the incidence of taxation oil land and income should have been made for the purposes of this year's collection. . He moved that tho Bill should bo referred back to the Gov ernment with a recommendation that tho House desired legisle.tion this session to provide—by _ way of increases in deato duties and in the higher grades of land and income tax—for a substantial reduction in the Customs duties on necessities of life in common use among the poorer people. Mr. S. G. Smith (Taranaki), in sec07)dins the amendment, said that the Bill was the acknowledgment of a broken pledgo on the part of tho Government. Air. Massey said that every pledge ho had made would_ be kepi. Mr. Smith claimed that the Government was committed to a promise of immediate action. The Government was playing fast and loose with the cost of living, nnd its only financial proposals so far had been in the direction of increasing the burden on tho poorer people of tho country. He instanced the increased railway charges, which he said were merely • a means adopted by tho Government to avoid doing tho Tight thins* in the adjustment of t&xnlion.

Mr. Alassey Teplied that lie believed lion, members understood very well what would bo the effect of tlir> amendment. if if. were possible to give effect to if. TJjo member for Taranaki had referred to the .increase in fares and freights on the railways. That had been simply inevitable on account of the necessity for increasing the salaries of the railwaymen. It )iad bfen suggested that nothing had been done to help the poorer people of the country. There was no country in tile world where the "email mnn.". bad got off so easily in the matter of taxation. I'lie solo necessity of life on which the Government increased taxation during the war period was lea, and the increase on that was threepence per lb. Ho did not know how much tea the workers consumed

Mr. Powdrell (Fatea): Two shillings per head per year.

.Mr. Massoy: If that is all tlio contribution tliey. are called upon to pay in connection with war expenditure they have got off very, lightly. "There was no other country," Mr. Mnssoy continued, "in which the figure up to which exemption from income tax was granted was fo high. The h'rnd of the Taxing Department had told him, in answer to his inquiry, that it would be absolutely impossible to hold up the Annual Land and Income Tax Bill in order to incorporate the proposals contained in the new mensure which hiad been introduced during the evening. It had been stated that the amount of revenue obtained from the Customs duties had gone up, 'but the increase had been due principally to the greater number of dutiable articles coming into the country now, and to the higher prices of these articles. He hoped that next year he would be able to ask Parliament to reduce taxation. He would like to do away with primage duty and the duty on tea." The division on Mr, Veitch's amendment was taken at 0.15 a.m. The amendment was defeated by. !i!2 votes to IS.

The Bill was committed, read a third ;ime, und 'passed.