POWER BOARDS

Hokitika Guardian, 22 June 1929, Page 3

POWER BOARDS

METHODS. OF BUSINESS

EXEMPT' FROM TAXATION

(Ninteen Twenty-Eight Committee.)

At tbe annual conference of electric power boards.’ secretaries held in Wellington on May 23rd last, Mr 11. J. Beeche, the secretary cJf the Central rJectric •Power Board, at Hamilton, read a paper ill which a very striking paragraph appeared. “It was stated,” the paragraph rlin, “ that in specific instances some of the boards are taking up the selling of electrical appliances and fittings, and have specialised on certain lines to the litter exclusion of competing lines, enforcing compliance with their .policy-: by refusing to finance or service, any but the lines approved of and sold by themselves ; that they so!!, such appliances at ridiculously low prices',' losses being recouped by increasing both the price of current tc consumers and by rates imposed on consumers and non-consumers alike.”: Mr Beeche attributed these statements to.the Nineteen Twenty-Eight Committee and frankly admitted‘that lie was not in a position to say whether or not' they .were correct, but lie thought some of them so misleading they “should be challenged by every board,” lest “further burdens ”,should be placed upon these bodies.

The annual conference of the Electric Supply Authority Engineers^Association bad been held on ; the preceding day and the delegates . present bad adopted a motion to-"'the. effect- that the allegations Of tbe Nineteen TwentyEight Committee concerning the trading operations of the .' power boards should be carefully investigated. The po.nt at issue seemed to -be rathe/ ‘on ? for the hoards themselves than for their engineers and ilieir secretaries; but in the circumstances the Committee was quite content to await the report of the officials before going further into the matter. It now lias been waiting for a month, however, and so far no definite refutation of the allegations has appeared. Mr Beeche himself tolls us tliat his board has had “no necessity to adopt a trailing policy, as the requirements Of its consumers have been well catered for by the electrical traders in its district,” and Mr J. AY. Hayden, the Chairman of the AA’aitemata Board,'states that lie and bis colleagues “could make serious inroads on the business of private traders, but, as tl 'it would bo m la.-r, we Have nevet contemplated it.” ho inr so good. Mr Beeche, Air Hayden, and thenrespective Boards are to be commend-, oil so far as theirVoiisideration foV private enterprise and individual opportunity goes. Blit still in their conception of practical things they fall very if:tr short of the axioms laid down by Edison in discussing this very problem. “There is far more danger in public monopoly ..than ’.there,, is in private monopoly,” this high authority told the American people a little while ■back. ..“.AYlieu the ..Government goes inLo business it can always sliiit its losses on to the taxpayers. If it goes into the power business, lor instance, it can pretend to sell cheap power and then, cover up its losses.” Power boards have the same privileges as Governments have in this respect. “ 1 do not object to income tax being levied,” says Air Hayden, the Chairman, oi' the AA’aitemata Board, quite cheerily, “because there are no profits to tax. If a profit is made one year it is given back to the customei tlie following year by a reduction in charges.” Just so; but no evasion of this kind is open to private enterprise