BANKER SPEAKS ON LABOUR POLICY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 65, 3 April 1937, Page 5

BANKER SPEAKS ON LABOUR POLICY

— Press Ass:

Price-guarantee Should Raise Taxation BANKS' POSITION

(By Telegrapb-

a.— Copyright.)

(,iteceivea «j, a.m.j LONDON, April 2. Mr Livingstone Learmouth, presiding at the annual meeting of the Bank of Australasia, referred with satisfaction to the higher prices for wool and wheat and the substantial taxation relief which had been eneouraging to enterprise in Australia. "If the trade expansion had been met by a corxesponding increase in currency," said Mr Learmouth, "the balanpe sheet figures would probably have shown an increase, but the authorities were apprehensive of a boom and apparently were anxious to avoid inflatiOn, with the result that, while our funds have enabled us to meet legitimate demands for advances, speculation has been checked. ' ' My Learmouth endorsed the advice of Commbnwealth adviaers in London that it would be unwise at present to spels loans in Britain. He added that the New Zealand Government's laudable desire for better living conditions had led to experiments which should be fully explored b'efore being developed. It was difficult to see how the price paid to producers could be artificially malntained above world prices without creating unbearable tax ation burdens and raising the level of internal prices, thus counteracting- advantagee to producers. "The banks hope to receive more equitable treatment from the piesent Labour Government than from its predecessors in the matter of taxation," he said. "The inequity of the present method of levying on hypothetical profits has been admitted by more than one national Government, but has not been remedied. We are now promised that the authorities will investigate the matter,"