BURDEN IS TOO HEAVY

NZ Truth, Issue 1188, 6 September 1928, Page 11

BURDEN IS TOO HEAVY

Clubs Are Finding It Hard To i Make Ends Meet i ■ . nURINGr the past three months, the majority of racing, trotting and hunt clubs have held their annual meetings, and, with few exceptions, the subject of too much taxation has been the chief ' bone of contention among members.

THE various clubs these days are more or less up against it to make ends meet. Some are worse off than others. Several clubs have, of course, become encumbered and are hard put to meet their obligations. They cannot be blamed for hitting out, for a few years ago both branches of sport were m a state of affluence. Even officials" who possessed a pessimistic turn of mind were agreeable 3 to embarking upon schemes of expenditure to meet the growing demands of the public. In those days, football was a minor sport and racing the sport of kings, with trotting the pleasure of the masses. Since then, however, things have changed and the public is all for football, while racing and trotting fixtures suffer m consequence. And so the trend of public opinion has altered so much that racing, trotting and hunt clubs are finding it | difficult to maintain the standard of a few years ago. The days when they paid the several taxes imposed upon them by the Gove

ernment — and paid them, cheerfully — have passed. To-day, every club m the Dominion is seeking relicf — and they more or less urgently need ,it. It is acknowledged that the Gioverhment has granted some measure of relief to small clubs, but it is not sufficient to prevent certain organizations from going out of business. The latest reform suggested by the Minister of Finance is on a graduated scale, whereby the big clubs would bear the biggest part of the burden and relieve the pressure on the small clubs. That would be; all right" from / the minor .clubs' viewpoint, but the majority of the big clubs have about as much as they can carry. During the good days they had to open their purses pretty wide, and m many instances they have bitten off as much as they can chew. Relief is necessary — and the sooner the authorities m racing and trotting can prevail upon the Government to ease the pressure, the better it will be for both sports.