"ONLY ONE BURDEN"

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 40, 3 March 1937, Page 12

"ONLY ONE BURDEN"

Income-Tax Payments in N.Z. TWENTY PER CENT. OF WHOLE Tke timo allowed taxpayers ,io pay tkeir income taxes kas now all but expired, and tke extraordinary increases in tkeir tax demand notices kave brougkt kome to tkem forcibly that social transformation has to be paid tor (says a statement by tke Associated Ckambers of Commerce of New Zealand). But unprecedentedly keavy aa income-tax is tkis year on tke individual, tkis item is only one of his burdens. Tke wkole yield from income-tax represents less tkan 20 per cent. of tke total taxation tkat is being raised tkis year by tke Government. And tke individual taxpayer is by no means paying tke wkole of tkis 20 per cent.; companies. wkick rank as individuals in New Zealand for i.ncome-tax purposes, will pay an appreciable skare of tke £6,000,000 from incomo taxes this year. Not only is tkere tke direct unomployment taxation, but millions are also paid by tke people in indirect taxation. Tke following table gives tke various items of taxation as a percentage of total taxation for 1936-37, and skows kow income taxation, oppreasive as it is, is less tkan a fifth of tke wEoIe of tke kuge sum tkat is being raised tkis year by taxes »— Percentage of total. Customs 30.0 Beer duty 2.6 Saies tax 0.6 > Film kire tax .2 s Gold export duty 4 Higkways taxes 8.4 ! Stamp and death duties .. 10.7 y Land tax 4.3 1 Income ctax 19.8 > Miscellaneous .1 i Unemployment tax ...... 13.9 i I 100.0 > Witk xegard to a nation 's total tax

— — E— — ■ — ■ !■ — — 1 bill, and the kidden taxation bur.den, fitf overseas commentator has remarked tkat "if tkat tax bill kad to be paid all at one time by tke taxpayer by a direct tax, instead of in driblets in indirect taxes, tkere would be a revolution wkick would be recorded in history as a very snappy affair, and one remarkably effective in reducing tke cost of Government. " Tke Prime Minister stated in Dunedin a few days ago tkat "before two years kad passed tkere would be a transformation in New Zealand tkat even tke most optimistic of tkem. kad never dreamt of in tke days tkat kad gone." But already tke Dominion kas been transformed into proB'ably tke most kigkly taxed country in tke world.