TAXATION BURDEN

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 223, 20 August 1937, Page 8

TAXATION BURDEN

APPROACHING £IOO,OOO PER DAY

HON. J. G. COBBE’S' COMMENT.

The growing burden of taxation was strongly commented upon by Hon. J. G. Cobbe in the course of a political address at Halcombe last evening. He said that spread over 313 working days of the year the people paid £99,566 daily, and if taxation continued to grow, as they knew it would under a Socialistic regime, it would not be long before the burden was well over £IOO,OOO per day. “The Prime Minister,” said Mr Cobbe. “was not very complimentary to either the memories or the intelligence of the people of New Zealand, when, on the eve of his departure tor the Coronation, he boasted of an estimated increased surplus for the past year. He omitted to remind his hearers that that surplus, together with more than £4,250,000, came from additional taxation imposed upon the people by his Government. He also omitted to mention that he won his election, partly o nliis pre-election statement, made in Christchurch, that “further taxation was out of the . question. ” And yet, as soon as he had the opportunity, his Government forced through Parliament authority to collect additional taxation, estimated at £4,460,535. „ “But as a matter of fact the actual direct taxation collected from the ! people amounted to much more. The ! Government Statistician, in the AbI* stract of Statistics for June of the present year says: ‘The taxation receipts for 1936-1937 are the highest ever recorded, the figure being nearly £5,700,000 higher than in 1935-1936 which previously held the record.’ “The actual amount fpr the past year was £31,164,302. This means that for each of the 313 week-days of the year the people paid a daily tax of £99,566; and if taxes continue to grow, as thev have done since the Socialists came into power, next year we will be paying more than £IOO,OOO for each week-day in the year. “The Meat Producers’ Board returns up to March 31, 1937,” continued Mr Cobbe, “show that for this year of lugli prices, the total (f.o.b. value), as measured by the export statistics, of our meat, wool, hides and skins, tallow, etc., amounted to £33,230,425. The position now is that if the present wild orgy of expenditure continues, and even if to-day’s high prices for our produce are maintained, in a short time the whole of the export proceeds of our great pastoral industry, with the exception of the dairy industry receipts will be taken to pay taxes. This is part of the price the country is paying for the privilege of being governed by Socialists. In effect this excessive taxation is the carrying out of the socialistic plan of eliminating those in fairly good circumstances, so that their assets will finally come under the control of the State. This is plainly indicated in a book entitled, ‘A Summary i of Socialism,’ intended for the use of 1 Socialist lecturers, which says: ‘lt will ■ be necessary eventually to eliminate the rich, but this can be done gradually, over a period of time, by means of taxation. The main thing is to get the industry of the country out of private hands.’ ”