THE COST OF PLEASURE

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4654, 28 January 1924, Page 2

THE COST OF PLEASURE

TELLING FIGURES.. A judicial humorist in New South Wales, with an evident bent for satire, caustically observed that the three staple industries of Austialia were horse racing, pictures, and hotels (ermarks the Melbourne Age). Ho would probably extract some confi.mation of. his ironical catalogue from the contemplation of an interim return relating to the entertainments ta v which has been submitted to the Commonwealth Treasury.

The figures sßow that, on an average, each man, woman, and child in Australia patronised a picture show once a month during the year 1921-22. Tn other words, there were 67,336,952 admittances, and the tax yielded was £313,260. Obviously, owing to their higher charges, the theatres ‘as distinct from the movie shows—attracted only 10,435,213 patrons, who contributed £126,711 to an insatiable Government by way of taxation. The judge put racing first, but on the tax schedule it comes only third. Punters, of course, escape the entertainment tax on their flutter by not going to the races, and the official figures record 6,613,733 .admittances to race meetings, at which £122 972 was collected as taxes. Taxed dancers an.l skaters, who numbered 5,184,976; contributed £33,619 to the revenue. The total revenue extracted from all forms of amusement and entertainment liable to tax was £67'4-891.

The amount of tax is about 8 per emit, of the expenditure; on this basis the Australian people spent nearly £8,500,0'00 in public amusements “get-at-able” by a remorseless tax collector.

The royal commission on taxation thought thq entertainment tax ought to be abolished, and that.it was only warranted by the ravenous demands of war-time finance.

Lt is curious that the tax yielded corresponds to within a few thousands of the amount of the maternity allowance, or “bangle bonus,” to mothers.