THE SALES TAX

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 34, 10 February 1933, Page 8

THE SALES TAX

A FURTHER BURDEN

HEAVY ON THE WORKERS

MANUFACTURER'S VIEW

(By Telegraph.) (Special to "The Evening Post.") DUNBDIN, 9th February. "As one of the evil results of having a pegged exchange, the Government now finds it necessary to impose a sales tax on the community as a step toward obtaining the revenue required to balance the Budget," said Mr. James Hogg, president of the Dunedin Manufacturers' Association. "This, it is quite evident, will be a further burden on the community, and will fall very heavily on the workers in the cities, as an inevitable result with the raising of the exchange will be the raising of the cost of goods. The sales tax places another load on the retail section of New Zealand business houses, RDd in many cases retailers will be very hard hit through not being able to pass on the increased taxation."

So far as the manufacturers were concerned, said Mr; Hogg, they would merely add the sales tax when making sales direct to the retailers. In effect, the manufacturers were made the collectors of the taxation; It was evir dent that the imposition of this burden coming from the pegging of the exchange and the sales tax would eventually raise the prices of goods and curtail the buying power of the public; While on the subject of the threatened increase in the cost of living, Mr. Hogg said it was opportune to state that it was impossible to agree with the statement of tie Hon. A. Hamilton that the cost of living would fall further as a result of the recent legisla-' tion.