WEIGHT OF TAXATION

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 140, 30 June 1937, Page 8

WEIGHT OF TAXATION

Dominion's Greater Than BritainY A HEAVY BURDEN The contention that tho weigbt oi taxatiou in New Zealand, heavy as it is, is 'still not as severn as in the United Ivingdom, is dispelled by informatiou which is now available from Londou, says a statement by the Associated Chamber of Commerce of New Zealand. Pigures which have been forwarded by the Pederation of Chambers of Commerce of the British Enipire show tho comparative position to be as follows: Taxes Per Head, 1936-37. Australia. TJ.K. N.Z. £15 6'llfc £16 12 6 £19 15 2 *Eotimated. Taxation in Now Zoaiand was thercfore greater than that iu tho United Kingaom by £3 2/8 ,a head, or 15.85 poi cent. Proportionate to the population, New Zealand taxpayers paid £4,942,000 more in taxes to (iovernment dn 1936-37 than did the United Kingdom taxpayers. - Not only the p^rsonal and household budgets of the small, individual tax- . payer but also the eniployment of capital on a larger scale/'are adversely affected by liigh tax rates. Some pcrtinent comments on tax policy and capital accuxnulation were made reeently by the ehairman' of the. Chase National Bank, New Xork. He saia: — "lt seems clear to me that we have gone much too far in tax rates in tlie higher brackets, from the standpoint Of industry and the growth of capital in the country, Men of large and substantial fortunes are men who can alford to take risks wnlcli men with modest fortunes cannot take in the financing of new inventions and the dbvelopment of ew ddustries. The smail ivestort unable to diversify adequateiy. must 'play saf e, ' and should buy oniy seasoned securities. There 3s to-day a great scarcity of venturesome capital, and we should modify our "tax systein to the extent that it is necessary to pexmit capital to become venturesome again . , , . The gexieral theory of thoso wllo wish, by nncreasing the volume of inoney and credit, , und intensifying their velocity, to bring about prosperity, requires that these thingo shouid bo curbed w7hen the paee gets too fast." The pace is beeoming iast when New Zealand taxation a head can ovorshadovv that of the United Ivingdom, which has always been regarded as a lieavily-taxcd country. The New Zealand taxpayer has becoiue distinctly " tax-conscious " of late — with good reason — and he is beginning to realise that, in addition to his heavy direct taxes, he is paying invisible indireet taxes which are written into t-he goods and services that hc buys, and which are largely responsible for the high and increasing cost of living. t | •