LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 47, 17 October 1931, Page 5

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

Special Commissioner).

MEMBERS DIVERGENT VIEWS ON LAND AND INCOME TAX AMENDMENT BILL DEPARTMENTAL ECONOMIES

("Post"

WELLINGTON, Friday. In moving the second reading of the Land and Income Tax Amendment Bill in the Legislative Council to-day, the Leader of the Council, Sir James Parr, said that the Minister of Finance had been faced with a very extraordinary position as his revenues were crumbling heneath him. Even now the position was growing progressively worse. The Government had had to resort to expedients which could not be defended in normal times. He felt that the Minister of Finance had done his hest to meet the situation. One of the virtues of the Budget was that it made provision for needs of farmers. The only way to increase production was to help the farmer. It would be unmoral to interfere with rates of interest on mortgages, as the mortgagee was already heavily taxed. The Hon. Colonel Smith entered an emphatic protest against the provisions of the Budget. What was wanted in New Zealand was not more production, but cheaper production. They were making a fetish of balancing the Budget and before they endeavoured to do greater economies in Departments of State. The Hon. D. Buddo said that the times were out of joint and they had to make provision accordingly. The Hon. G. J. Garland said that all avenues of economy should be explored before they increased taxation. There were too many civil servants in New Zealand. The Hon. E. A. Alison said that New Zealand had been overtaxed before the present Bill came down, but he admitted that the present proposals were necessary. The Minister of Education, the Hon. R. Masters, said that it was essential that they should halance their Budget this year if they were to maintaih credit abroad. Every efforfc was being made to bring about economies. The heads of departments had been instructed to further , reduce their administrative costs by £400,000 before the end of the year. He would very much like to know how it would be possible to reduce the cost of education by £1,000,000. The Bill was read a second time and put through the remaining stages and passed. The Land and Income Tax Annual Bill was put through all stages and passed without discussion.