RAISING ADDITIONAL REVENUE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 3991, 31 August 1929, Page 2

RAISING ADDITIONAL REVENUE.

HOTEL LICENSE FEES

MR. WILKINSON’S SUGGESTION.

An increase in hotel license fees is suggested by Mr. C. A. Wilkinson, Independent member for Egmont, as one method of raising the additional revenue required by the Government.

Advancing this proposal in his Budget speech in the House of Representatives yesterday, Mr. Wilpresentatives on Thursday, Mr. Wilkinson said that only £41,000 was collected in license fees from hotels last year, and in his opinion £400,000 could quite well be collected from that source without doing harm to anyone. Hotelkeepers had a valuable monopoly and they should be called on to pay when money was wanted instead of calls being made on the farmer and the working man. In reality New Zealand was getting less to-day than ever before from the license fees. Perhaps in return for a higher charge some security could be given hotelkeepers against triennial licensing referenda. He suggested that the local bodies should collect the same amount in license fees as at present, and that the additional charge should, go to the Government. The biggest publichouse in New Zealand paid only £4O a year, the same amount as an auctioneer, and the latter had no monopoly. Mr. Wilkinson said he knew cue- man in his district who had to pay £BO a yea'r to run a motortruck.

Mr. E. J. Howard (Labour member for Christchurch South): We should he after those publicans. Mr. Wiilkinson: It might be suggested that the Government might be afraid to interfere with hotelkeepers, but I don’t think the Prime Minister would lie afraid of anyone when it comes to collecting taxes. (Laughter).