THE COW TAX.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9426, 23 April 1909, Page 7

THE COW TAX.

SIR,—Mr T. sTwillis, writing in -your issue of the 20th inst., re pro“posed oow tax, says : “The meeting and mover seemed very hazy as to the incidence of the. tax, but it was explained by the gentleman, who of those present, was probably the best ' informed on the subject, that this cow tax, was only to 1m levied on those herds supplying milk to butter factories. If this is a . true ooncepi;'on of the proposed tax, I hope the Conference will Oct support the remit.” Section 1 of the Dairy Regulations says; For the purpose of these regulations “dairy” means and includes any farm, stockyard, milkyard, paddock, shed, stall, stable or any other place where cbwi, irom which the milk supply of a dairy isobtained, are depastured, kept, or milked, and includes any pl*ce where milk or cream is collected, deposited, treated, separated, preserved or manufactured into butter or cheese' on the farm ; but does not Include any milkshop, or any factory, skimming station or other premises used for the manufacture ct condensed, preserved, or dried milk; nor any farm where the whole of the milk produced, whether used as milk or cream, or manufactured on the premises into butter, or cheese is consumed by persons resident, or employed thereon. “Dairyman” means the occupier of a dairy, and rinoludes the dairyman’s agent, or manager, and also includes in .the case of .a company, the • managing ■director, manager, secretary or other principal office of, the company in New Zealand. Now God forbid that I, or any other reasonably sane man, should presume' to interpret the laws ox NeW Zealand, hut it appears from the above quoted sections that all milk, butter,'or cheese produced on :a farm for sale comes under the dairy and that every farm producing milk for sale is a dairy within the meaning of the regulations. i . ® . , If the above surmise is correct, then every milk supplier to every .dairy factory in the country is liable "for the cow tax. Sections 2 and 3—“ Every dairy most be registered oh or before the Ist day of July, 1909, and a certificate will be issued. If the holder wishes to transfer this certificate, the fee is one shilling.” This is the first impost. The certificate has to be renewed on the Ist Jnlyjjin each year.” Section 6—“ The fee for registration, or for renewal of registration, ;shall be for every dairy in oonnection with which it is intended there shall be, during the season following the date of application for registration. ,

a. Not more than three cows in milk, one shilling per annum. b. Morp than three, but not more than twenty cows in milk, fi\e .-shillings per annum. o. M/mb than twenty oows in milk ten shillings per annum. The applicant shall send or deposit the’prescribed fee with every application for registration or renewal. 1 Section 27—“ Any parson committing a breach of these regulations is liable to a penaltv not exceeding five pounds;” There is, therefore, a registration fee of one, five, or ten ’Shillings, and a transfer lee of one shilling, and a penalty up to five pounds, and as far as I can understand the regulations this will he levied on every dairy herd in the country. . , t I would like to point , out that the maximum fee would be levied on the hardest worked peopde in New Zealand, viz., on the man wdo milks up to 25 cows by himself; if a man is arioh enough to milk 200 cows, he has only the same tax to pay as the small man. The cow tax versus the sheep tax ' works out this way on my farm When I was sheep-farming the, tax came to about one penny per acre ; mow I have out my farm up into six dairy farms, the proposed oow tax will come to twopence per acre. I am indebted to the Waikato Argus of March 13th, 1909, for the dairy regulations.—l am, etc., TOM MoKENZIB, Clydesdale, April 21st, 1909.