The Chronicle

Horowhenua Chronicle, 11 September 1915, Page 2

The Chronicle

PUBLISHED DAILI. LEVIN. SAI'IKDAY. ShiM. 1L i'Jlj. i:\CUME TAX. Around Levin. as in other country d's-iir-is. ;i good deal ol interest has been manilcsL regarding the income Lax proposals oi the Government as r,et (jut in Budget speech. Some dubiety has been expressed regarding the operation* ol : the new proposals, and as to 'whether the collection would pro\e irksome and embarrassing to those most concerned in the matter. .Some remarks made by the -Minister lor L'inaiiee oil this head (and also in regard Lo the nebulous suggestions lor a State paper currency,) are oi help in lornung a cor reel/ estimate oi the Government!-, ideas on these subject*. .Sir Joseph Ward remarked that a suggestion had been made by some tmcmbein ol 'lie lloik>e ol Keprcseiitatives thai, there ~ vjiiid bo a great difficulty in collectingthe tanners' income taxes. Ho wished 10 assure .the country that this was not .so. What the Land Tax Department proposed to do was Lo send iorm.s lo those larmers whose holdings uggested ihat tliev would probably have to pay the tax., The department 'uid complete records and it was not likely alter tlic,se had been examined that small farmers would be pestered with -tonus. These whose land tax showed that they would be likely to luive to pay the income lax would get the lornis and they would also have lull instructions how to lill them. J iio proposal, he was suae, would be loiind t-o work very well. T'urther. there had been a suggestion that the Government should establish a Statu paper currency'. History showed thaL this was a very dangerous thing to do. He did not think that there was any great consensus oi opinion thai the Government should establish a paper currency. In normal times the note issue oi the banks doing business in the dominion was 11,700,000 per year. At present— this being a time ol war—it was ,000,000. There was a proper gold reserve behind these issues at all'times, it' 11,700,000 a year was all that the public took up in ordinary times, did any believe that the public would take up £5,000,000. an increase ol' more than 13,000,000 over what was required in ordinary times? The issue of State notes under certain conditions might be quite ieasible. but so long as the State maintained its present close connection with the Jiank ol New Zealand it was not ieasible.