CRIPPLING BLOW

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20023, 23 August 1939, Page 4

CRIPPLING BLOW

RACING TAX REBATE REMOVAL OF CONCESSION PILLAR OF SMALL CLUBS FAR-REACH INC! EFFECTS “The refusal of the Government to renew the concession will come as a crippling blow to racing clubs outside the main centres of population. For many years the rebate on taxation has been depended on toy the country clubs ns a means of keeping up their stakes and maintaining their assets. Without it, they will simply sink into a bog of debt,” stated Mr, F. Tolerton, president of the Poverty Bay Turf, Club, discussing to-day the announcement of the Government’s intention to exact the full scale of taxation from racing clubs.

He explained that in the case of the Poverty Bay Turf Club, the concession last year meant a difference of £425. The club finished the year with a slight loss even after taking this rebate into account, and if it had to face the future without the rebate, it would be impossible to emerge without a loss. One-Fifth of Taxation Total The nominal rate of taxation paid by clubs to the Government on their turnover is 5 per cent, but several years ago the Government of that lime instituted a rebate representing one-fifth of the total taxation, in order to assist clubs with small turnovers. In the meantime, the concession had been of the utmost value to Ihe sport in country districts, enabling clubs to offer stakes good enough to attract owners of horses, and to keep up their courses and appointments.

If the concession were removed now, courses and appointments must suffer, and tire country clubs would be unable to attract entries from the owners of good-class horses. The effect would be seen in a swift decline in the sport, except at metropolitan courses.

“I am sure that the country clubs will take some action to place their position before the Government,” said Mr. Tolerton. “Unless the matter is reconsidered, the State will lose a huge amount of revenue through the decay of the sport as a whole, starting in the country areas. It is difficult to understand how this attitude is reconciled with the interest expressed by the Government in providing sporting facilities for the country districts.”