HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Feilding Star, Volume XIII, Issue 16, 6 August 1891, Page 2

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

The House met at 2.30. Replying to Captain Russell, the Hon, Mr Ballance said that the Federation resolutions would not" be- brought forwari again without notice being given in the usual way. Replying to questions it was stated — That the Government had no intention to bring down a State Bank of Issue Bill —That the Government were fully-alive to the necessity of preventing the practice prevailing in England, of Vendors of mutton selling New Zealand mutton for Home produce, and inferior frozen mutton for New Zealand frozen mutton, and would do everything in their power to prevent it. The ' Hon. Mr Ballance moyed the; second reading of the Land and Income Assessment Bill, and dealt at some length with the provisions of the measure. He said secrecy would be ensured as far as possible in collection of the Income Tax. Under the Property Tax provision for compulsory purchase of lands,' if* the owner did not agree to the valuation, would be made more stringent so that purchase could be made at ' any time during the currency of the valuation instead of merely when the assessment wa» / being made as at present. ' Visible ita-^ provements would be subject to taxation..' He spoke strongly in support of the contention that it would be to the advantage of the Colony to have large unimproved tracts of land cut up or improve<L'-Banks- . and investment companies would besought under the Income Tax pure and. simple, but building societies-. would beexempt, as they were under thePro-~ perty Assessment Act. Friendly So'cietiesand Savings Banks would also be exemptfrom taxation. Railways would be taxed, on their income, their desire should* be to* obtain a pure land tax. If they had notproposed that it was because the necessities of the country had -not allowed, them to go further than v they had doneHe could not accept Mr Shera's amendment, that no exemption for improvements should be made. He defended the distinction between incomes from labour and those from professions, and said very little attention should be paid to- resolutions passed by chambers of Commerce. The Hon. John Bryce took exemption; to the secrecy of the incpme tax,' as ia. America the fullest publicity was relied on to prevent fraud. If the Premier desired to make the land tax -permanent and popular, he advised him not to. make valuations too high, but rather under the mark. With regard to improvements her held that the term of ten years was altogether too short. When a graduated Land Tax was once put in force Mr Ballance would then find plenty of objections, to it. An Income Tax. would produceirritation and annoyance, and infuse a. a great deal of vice into the community • m the way of making false declarationsA proper system of taxation should'include all improvements, and in exempting; one sort of improvements and not another great injustice would be perpetuated. He was opposed to putting a tax on the bare - land or the value of it. - The -Premier's- ' proposals would tax a man 'who was engaged in the heroic work' of colonisation ■ to the very hilt. He objected to the owners of big estates being punished for no crime, and also to mortagees being exempted from the graduated tax, as mortgagees must be' looked upon as the very worst form of absentees. Mr Scobie McKenzie did not think the; bill would ever become law. Dr Newman moved an' amendment to the effect that a tax should be imposed on absentees. ' The debate was adjourned and the House rose at midnight. August 5The House met at 2.30. Mr E. N M. Smith gave notice to move on going into Committee of Supply, ■, " That in the opinion of this House Government should appoint a Royal Commission, with power to spent -£3000 in the trial of ironsand and iron ores of New Plymouth, so as to ascertain whether, they can be smelted, thereby enabling New. Zealand to make iron and steel from, the iron ores." Mr Richardson resumed the debate on. the Land and Income Assessment Bill. He said the Bill was based, on conjecture as to the amount of revenue it would, yield. He referred to the revenue which, had been obtained since the present Government assumed office, and after a verycareful consideration of the- figures he calcutated there was an actual deficit for the last six months of £LOl,OOO. Mr Mackenzie (Clutha), complained! that the effect of the present Bill would, be to remove taxation from the shoulders of the wealthy people in the {cities, and place it on the land. Mr C. H. Mills was in favour of Mr | Newmans amendment. Mr Buekland thought this new system" would prove no better than the Property Tax, and he would vote against the Bill. Sir John Hall could not see why a man, who invested capital en improvements' should be taxed so much more heavily than a man investing in Bank shares. It , was said that the reason land was singled, out for such heavy taxation was in order to obtain revenue, but if that was the case he asked why Government proposed to throw away L 40,000 by reducing the postage rates, a proposition that wouldbe opposed by nine-tenths of the people of the colony. The Hon. Mr Reeves did not think the people of this colony would care for the American system of collecting the Income Tax. He was glad to hear the Hon. Mr Bryce say that the Incpme Tax was a. good revenue tax, and was always to be relied on in that respect He denied, absolutely that because the Government were working up to a Land Tax pure and simple, it meant that they were working up to a Single Tax. He explained with reference to the incomes, derived from live stock, that they would not be taxed, but incomes derived from dealings in stock would be liable to taxation. '.-..[■ Messrs G. Hutchison, Shera and Blake having spoken, Mr Duthrie moved the adjournment of the House, which was carried.