FINANCE BILL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1753, 30 August 1917, Page 3

FINANCE BILL.

The Finance Bill was brought down in the House on Tuesday night by Governor’s Message, and evinced great interest. The details of the Bill were explained by the Minister for Finance, and read a first time. Sir Joseph Ward, in explaining the Bill, said that it was a very important one, dealing as it did with the proposals in the Budget in regard to taxation. It consisted of 77 clauses,"and dealt with various forms of taxation. There would lie one progressive land tax levied on improvements of all lands without deduction for mortgage. There was a special exemption granted for the mortgaged land where the unimproved value did not exceed £2,000. This meant a concession to small farmers of from £BO,OOO to £IOO,000. The rates on Native lands would be half the charges on other lands. The taxes on land belonging to religious bodies were to be half of those on other lands, and the same applied to land held by sports bodies. Under the Bill the proposal was, in ascertaining the taxation of sawmills, to provide for freedom ot taxation of the cost of the timber to the sawmiller. The taxation proposals as far as relief to he given to the shareholders in small companies was concerned provided that where a shareholder received only £3OO a year in dividends a refund of the whole of the tax paid by him on that dividend would be made. EVERYONE MUST HELP* Ever since the £12,000,000 War Loan was promulgated, curiosity has been excited as to the manner in which the Government was going to “compel” subscriptions to (he loan. The proposals are contained in the Finance Bill, which was before Parliament last night. They read as under in clause 37: — (.1) Subject to the provisions of this section, it shall be Hie duty of every taxpayer whoso taxable income for the income year ended on the thiny-lir-t day of March, nineteen hundred and seventeen, was not less than £7OO to subscribe to the loan authorised to be raised by the War Purposes Loan Act, 15)17 (hereinafter referred to as (lie warpurposes loan), an amount equal to three limes (he total amount of land tax and income tax (exclusive of excess-profits duty) for which he was liable under the Finance Acl, 1910: Provided that no obligation (o subscribe to that loan shall be enforceable under this section unless and until a notice under the hand of the Commissioner of Taxes is served on the lax-payer under subsection 5 hereof. (2) If any taxpayer to whom this section relates has subscribed to the loan authorised to be raised by section 35 of the Finance Act, 1910, an amount exceeding one .and a-half limes the amount of lax for which he was liable 'as aforesaid, the amount so contributed by him in excess shall be deducted from the amount which he is obliged under (his section to subscribe to (he warpurposes loan, and his obligation to subscribe to that loan shall be modified accordingly. (3) If any taxpayer to whom this section relates has not subscribed any amount to the loan authorised by section 35 of the Finance Act, 1911), as aforesaid, the amount which he is obliged to subscribe to the war-purposes loan under sub-section 1 hereof shall he increased by an amount equal to one and a-half times the amount of land (ax and income tax (exclusive of excess profits duty), for which he was liable under the Finance Act, 1910. (4) ' If any taxpayer to whom this section relates has subscribed to the loan authorised by section 35 of the Finance Act, lf)l(i, an amount less than one and a-half times the amount of land tax and income tax (exclusive of excess-profits duty), for which he wa.s liable under the Finance Act, 191.(1, the amount which lie is obliged to subscribe to the war purposes loan under subsection 1 hereof shall ho increased by an amount equal to the difl'ercneo between the amount so subscribed by him and.one and a-half times the amount of lax aforesaid.

(5) If the Commissioner of Taxes has reason to believe that any person has not subscribed to the war-purposes loan to the extent to which he is bound so to do by this section, ho may, by direction of the. Minister of Finance, by notice in writing under his hand or by successive notices, call upon that person io subscribe to that loan, within such time or limes as may be specified in the notice or notices, an amount to be (herein specified, not exceeding in the aggregate the amount Avhieh by this section he is obliged to subscribe.

((>) Any person upon whom a notice under this section is served as aforesaid may within fourteen days thereafter appeal therefrom to the Commissioner of Taxes on such grounds as he may specify in his notice of appeal, and may on appeal produce such evidence as ho thinks fit to show cause why he should not he hound to comply v;ith the terms of the notice.

(7) For the purposes of any such appeal the Commissioner of Taxes shall have the same powers as if he wore acting pursuant of, section 15-1 of the principal Act. (8) If-on the hearing of an appeal under this section it is proved to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that the appellant has subscribed to any war fund or other patriotic fund in connection with the war, he shall deduct the amount of such subscription or the total amount which the appellant is oh-

li'ged to subscribe to the war-pur-poses loan under this section. (9) Subject to the provisions of the last preceding sub-section, the Commissioner may, if he things fit, on any appeal -under this section, exempt the appellant either wholly or in. part from ■ his obligation to subscribe to the loan, the whole or any portion of the amount demanded, or he may in his discretion dismiss the appeal. (10) For the purposes of an appeal under this section the Commissioner may have associated with him the Secretary to the Treasury and the Government Insurance Commissioner, but the determination of every such appeal shall be with the Commissioner of Taxes. (11) If any person on whom a notice is served under this section and who has not appealed or whose appeal has not been allowed, refuses or fails io comply with the terms of that notice, or with the terms of that notice as modified by the Commissioner on appeal under this section, he shall be chargeable by way of penalty with an additional tax ( herein referred to as a penal tax) equal to double the total amount of the land tax and income lax (exclusive of excess profits duty) parable by him under the Finance Act, 1910.' (12) Any amount chargeable by way of penal tax under this section shall be recoverable by the Commissioner as if it were a penal tax chargeable under section 1-1-1 of the principal Act. (13) The Governor-General may by Ordor-in-Council make such regulations as may be deemed necessary for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of this section. THE COMPULSORY CLAUSE. ■ Referring to the compulsory clauses in regard to the loan, the Minister of Cinanco (Sir Joseph Ward) staled that he regretted exceedingly that they were necessary, and he hoped it would not be necessary for the powers provided to be put into operation in the Dominion. It was absolutely necessary, however, (hat everybody should do his full share in connection with (he wherewithal for carrying on the war. The proposals to enable this to he doin', he believed, would be fair, effective, and equitable if it was necessary to put them into operation. In the event of a taxpayer failing to contribute after notice had been served on him, he was liable to pay twice the amount of his land and income tax. While he (Sir Joseph) regretted the necessity for doing this, he hoped it would not he necessary to put this clause into operation any person or company. Provision, he said, was given to the Tax Commissioner to call up any person who had not apparently contributed his proper share towards the war loan, and in such a case he would have fourteen days to appeal against the amount demanded of him. In this direel ion the utmost seereey and privacy would he observed. We had to gel ■022,000,000, possibly £24,000,000, and when such a largo amount was asked for there was a danger that people would think that wind was everybody's business was nobody’s business, and there might possibly be a failure because everybody did not realise his obligations. IXSTANCES QUOTED. / In the course of further explanation as to how the clause would operate, Sir Joseph ([noted certain instances as to the amounts people with largo incomes would have to subscribe to the loan. In (lie case of a man who had failed to contribute to this year’s loan lie would have to contribute three limes the amount of bis taxation, and if be had failed to contribute to last year's loan, the amount which he, would he asked to contribute would be one and a-half limes bis taxation. Sir Joseph then quoted figures' to show what amounts it would lie necessary to contribute in cer-tain-eases. Among them were: — Assessable income, .C2(!8,018, total taxation £-1-O,(i3G; contribution for 1917, £148,308; contribution for 191(5, £74,545, total contributions, £222,7(52; assessable income, £9,377, total taxation, £1,9(53; contribution for 1917, £5,889; contribution for 191(5, £2,94-1, total, £8,833; assessable income, £1,009, total taxation, £39; contribution for 1917, £117; contribution for 191(5, £SB; total contribution, £175.