UNFAIR TAXATION

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 15 September 1924, Page 4

UNFAIR TAXATION

IMPOSED ON ELTHAM COUNTY

The further unfair taxation which will be imposed on the" residents of.the Eltham County when the Motor Vehicles Bill becomes law was mentioned by the chairman of the County Council' (Mr. C. J. Beloher) on Saturday. Mr. Belcher, estimated that with the tyre tax already in force under the Main Highways Act, together with the annual license fees which are provided for in the M°tor Vehicles Bill, the residents of Eltham County will be paying about £BOOO per annum in taxation to the Government. . They had already rated themselves heavily to pro, vide good main roads, and the result of it was that the. revenue drawn from them in, taxation was being i'n laying down main roads in other counties who had refused to tax themselves, while they had to bear the full cost. Further, said the chairman, the Main Highways Board had only allowed the Eltham County to have gazetted eight miles of road in the improveemnt and maintenance of which they could get as_ sistance from the board. It was true there was a stretch of Eltham Road which could be brought in when the tilleate was abolished, but the Highways Board had turned down their application to have the Rawhitiroa Road declared a main road, while at. the same time they had accepted the StratfordOpunake Road in the Stratford County and the Ahipaina Road in the Hawera County, both of which roads carried far less traffic than the Rawhitiroa Road.