NEW TAXATION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1748, 18 August 1917, Page 3

NEW TAXATION.

ON LAND AND INCOMES.

GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS EXPLAINED. CONCRETE EXAMPLES. A most important statement on the subject of land and income tax Avas made to the House of Representatives by the Minister of Finance (Sir Joseph Ward) on Wednesday. He laid on the table papers shoAving hoAv the tax Avas levied and hoAV it Avill be levied in future. Some asjecls of the taxation are host explained by the folloAving tables: — EFFECT ON INCOMES. Comparison helAveen the ordinary income tax plus the special Avar tax proposed this year and the ordinary income tax plus the income tax under section 5 payable last year. Assess- Present Proposed able Pates: Rales: Income. Tax payable. Tax Payable. £ £ s. (1. £ s. d, 500 J 1 .13 4 12 10 0 800 51 5 0 42 3 !) 1.000 -19 11 H 70 0 2 2.000 219 11 8 249 9 7 3.000 380 5 0 532 10 3 4.000 580 13 10 920 0 3 7.000 1,228 0 8 2,557 10 0 10.000 1,778 0 S 3,028 10 0 20.000 .2,011 13 1 7,432 10 0 50.000 9,1.11 13 4 18,082 10 0 100.000 18,278 0 8 37,432 .10 0 . LAND TAX. The tabled figures regarding Ibe land tax included the following;— Taxable Amount. Tax.

The tax at the above rates is increased by an additional i)0 per cent, super-tax. FOB WAR FFLTOSFS. A Her geving instances of some eases of the irregularity of the present taxation, Sir Joseph Ward said that under the old system there were big gaps lie!ween the various stages of assessment. The proposed scheme would do away with those anomalies, and tie gave instances showing how the amount <d taxation would rise from, in one ease, £13,020 to £20,080; in another ease from £2,271 to £4,470; and another from £2,87!) to £0,134. Commenting on the figures, Sir Joseph Ward said the Government was asking for taxation for t he payment of war charges. Everyone in the .Dominion had, in some form or other, to do something. I inter the Government's proposals very lew would escape. Fnder the old proposals a large number of people had escaped, but the present proposals Avere designed to tiring every possible taxpayer under the operation of the system. .In answer to an interjection, he said that they were all anxious to consider the interests of people with small farms, tint those people had as much at stake, in proportion, as the owners of large properties, and should be N xuade to subscribe to the safe-keeping of their properties. As to general taxation, Sir Joseph said he knew of more than one ease where a taxpayer was paying over 15s in the £ under the combined laud and income tax. Fortunately, Xe\v Zealand had not got the multi-millionaires that existed in America, but it was a fact that our limuieiui requirements, in proportion to our population, were going up to over the £2,000)000 limit, hy comparison. If the smaller farmer was eliminated, the people would have to make up their minds to ah income tax of 5s in the £ and land tax of 15s in the £. It was no use dealing sentimentally with the subject. The Dominion had to provide a huge sum of money, and was bound to get it, if it was going

to carry its share of the war. In the middle of all this, the Government was assailed with questions of land policy from (he party point of view. In his opinion, that was entirely wrong. SEEING IT THROUGH.

“We have to get through the war,’-' he said. “When the war is over it may be different.” He had indicated already that he hoped to get ten million pounds from the Post Office Savings Bank for war purposes before the end of the year. When the war was over, when New Zealand was making provision for the expense and repayment of the war loans, it must be in a strong financial position in London,-

c ,C, s. (1. .1,01)0 4 3 4 2,000 8 11 10 ;-},ooo 13 5 7 4,000 18 i i 5,000 23 8 0 0,000 28 18 1 7,000 34 12 8 8,000 40 12 0 0,000 40 17 0 10,000 53 7 8 11,000 00 3 1 12,000 07 3 0 i:i,ooo 74 0 7 14,000 82 0 7 15,000 80 10 10 10,000 07 18 1 17.000 100 5 0 18,000 114 10 10 10,000 123 13 11 20,000 ...... 132 10 3 21,000 . 142 0 22,000 151 10 5 24,000 101 14 4 24,000 17! 17 0 25,000 182 5 10 20,000 102 10 I 27,000 203 18 1 28,000 215 9 1 2!),ooo 220 11 O 40,000 238 5 31,000 .... 250 9 32,000 202 10 0 33,000 275 0 0 34,000 287 15 o 35,000 300 15 7 30,000 314 1 3 37,000 327 12 1 38,000 341 8 1 30,000 355 0 4 40,000 300 15 10 50,000 527 0 10 00,000 710 18 0 70,000 . . 020 11 5 80,000 1,150 0 00,000 1,417 10 4 100,000 1,705 14 7 110,00(1 . . 2,010 10 120,000 2,350 ) 0 130,000 2,725 ;> 140,000 3,117 >) 0 1 Mi (111(1 1 100 nun . . 34)70 •> 4 170/100 4,440 4 1: 180,000 4,045 0 0 •J 100,000 5,107 8 11 103,000 5,020 4,