REPLY TO LABOUR

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 79, 24 November 1931, Page 5

REPLY TO LABOUR

(Press Assn.-

taxes and banksng HON W. DOWNIE STEWART OPENS ELECTION CAMPAIGN "ONE RESULT— BANKRUPTCY"^

— By Telegraph — Copyright).

DUNEDIN, last night. The Minister of Finance, the Hon. W. Downie Stewart, Coalition candidate for Dunedin West, opened his campaign to-night before a large audience. The Minister devoted a considerable time to Labour's policy as outlined by Mr. H. E. Holland. He said the contrast between the two policies, Labour and Coalition, was clear and simple. The Coalition view was that the national incomes having fallen heavily, they must take steps to reduce expenditure. They had, however, to resort to heavy taxation, direct and indirect, to fill the gap caused by the repeated fail in the revenue, but the extra taxation proposed to help the Budget could not go beyond certain limits without destroying the sources from which it was drawn. The Labour Party, in its manifesto, had, said that a halt must he called to further taxation. He could not reeoncile that with the further statement that the source from which the taxation" was drawn must be extended, and the national income increased. "Is it not a strange thing how labour can reconcile the need for call,ing a halt in taxation with its policy for further expenditure all round and

the restoration of the wages cuts?" he asked. "The Labour Party gave entirely misleading figures "to suggest that the x*ecent increase in the income tax had hit the small man rather than the big man, said the Minister. All the increases were graduated on an ascending scale, and the Minister quoted figures to prove his statement. It was also alleged by the' Labour Party, Mr. Stewart said, that assessable incomes had increased by £16,000,000 in about 10 years, and ought to be available to get more revenue from. The Minister repeated what he had already told them, that they had confused the assessable and the taxable income owing to the ohanga in the method of stating the figures. Dealing with the graduated land tax, the Minister refuted the allegation that a gift was being made to the wealthy land owners. The reduetion of the land tax meant an increase in the income tax. Regarding Labour's State bank policy, Mr. Stewart said that if the eleccorate knew what this meant they would reject the Labour policy on this ground alone. It was owing to the danger of politicians gaining control of the eurrency that the Austra-, lian Federal Senate postponed the Bill to establish a reserve bank in the Commonwealth last year. Mr. Holland had stated that he would borrow £25,000,000 in New Zealand within three or four years. The Minister's answer was that neither Mr. Holland nor anybody else could borrow that sum in New Zealand in the period stated, whether the loans were voluntary or compulsory. Labour's finance iproposals could have one result only — national insolvency. The speaker was accorded a vote of thanks and confidence.