N.Z. AFFAIRS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 575, 5 July 1933, Page 6

N.Z. AFFAIRS

("Post" Speeial Commissioner.)

EVENTS REVIEWED j HIGHEST TAXATION COLLECTED • FOR PAST TWELVE v YEARS. BUILDING PROGRAMME.

Wellington, Tuesday. The figures of revenue from tax- ! afcion for the year ended March 31, j 1933 are r.ow available, and show that [ the amount eollected is the highest ) since 1921, which was the record I year. The prineipal cause for last year's high level is the unemployment 5 tax which amounted to £4,099,662, as against £1,217,451 for the previous \ financial year and £280,829 for 1931. There are also three new items in last year's figures, namely, stamp duty on interest, which brought in £309,132, salos tax, which yielded £38,253, and gold-export duty, from which was derived £15,636. Though the stamp duty on interest was imposed in the form of a tax and its proceeds are treated as such in the Public Accounts, this duty was, in effect, a tomporary means of obtaining some relief from the otherwise fixed expenditure burden for interest on the public debt rather than a means to incroase the general revenue. It has now been superseded by a debt-con-version plan, under which a similar effect will be achieved by a direct reduction in expenditure. The total revenue derived from taxation during the last three financial years is as follows: —

Fall In Incomes. The effect in the fall in the incomes of the people is illustrated by the drop in the amount of income tax eollected, the figures for the last three years being as follows: —

Other notable f eatures showing the signs of the times are the receipts from amusement taxation and totalisator taxation, which are as follows : — •

The film-hire tax, which is really a turnover tax on profits, amounted during the last financial year to £30,102, which is a de-crease of £11,105 compared with the figures for the previous year. New Building Works. The decision of the Government to proceed with certain public works which have been held in abeyance for the last three or four years was announced this week by the Acting Prime Minister (the Right Hon. J. G. Coates) , and the programme which has been outlined is expected to giVo an impetus to industry generallv. The policy of the New Zealand Gov, rnment is in line with the policies of most governments at the present tirne which are endeavouring to cope with the unemployment problem. It will be remembered that President Roosevelt inaugurated sev10 al h'r works for the absorption of the unemployed, and housing and rohding schemes are being pursued in England. For years, the New Zealand Government maintained a small army of men on public works and the number today is greater than most people iieagine. The number of artisans and labourers employed on railways, voads, hydro-electric works and public buildings durine the month of Ma\

was "."66 artisans and 7387 labourers. Of iuc.se 3755 were employed 01 voads and 2392 on land improvemeni and drainage. The figures do noi stipulate how many of the men were receiving relief i*ates of pay and hov many were paid standard rates. Or rnihvav construction there were only 83 artisans and 401 labourers. Th: is in marked contrast to 1930 whe:i there wero nearly 4000 men engagc : in railway construction. At that timi *' here were over 12,000 engaged i 1 various public works and all were r - ceiving standard rates of pay. F : the financial year ended March 31, 1931, £1,987,195 was spent on ra' - way construction as against £160,583 last year, and there has been a similar curtailment in the last tv.o years in practically every other acti ity of Ihe Public Works Departmer.'. From t lie department's funds tv ) years ago £1,475,523 was sper.t 0 1 road making, while last year the amount dropped to £396,559. The decrease in roading and building works has been so large that it has given rise to the opinion in some quarters that maintenance has been restricted to such an extent that deterioration had resulted. This opinion has been neither officially supported nor contradicted, but is noticeable in many places that there is a number of public buildings in need of a coat of paint, not only for thc lake of appearance but also for jioser-^ vation purposes. Coinage Report. The Coinage Committee, whi »h reported to the Government this week turned down the proposal for a decinial system on the ground that the time was not opportune for a switchover and it would have a disturbing on business generally. It is not known whether the committee considered any data on the subject from Soulh Africa, but in view of the agitation which has been made in some quarters for the new system the findings of the committee are of interest. In the decimal system, the committee saw the following advantag,es : — 1. Simplicity in calculation. As arithmetic is based on decimal notatio'n it would be most convenient in accounting for the monetary system ,to be on a similar basis. 2. Increased facility in accounting, thereby saving time and increasing * business efficiency. Reduced liability to' error in lceeping accounts. , 3. Greater ease in computing accounts as percentages, increases and decreases in wages, interest, etc., are usually expressed in percentages which have a more convenient rela-

tionship with a decimal system of coinage than a fractional system. 4. Greater ease in converting decimal currency into foreign currency particularly in view of the fact that all the leading eountries of the world have adopted the decimal system of coinage. 5. Facility on exchange conversion calculations. The foreign trader has a tendency to overlook prices and quotations in a currency which he finds difficult to convert into his own. 6. Improved price gradient. The adoption of the pound and mil system for instance would provide a smaller unit of value and therefore a more sensitive range of denominations. 7. More seientific method of price adjustments. Variations in price brought about by percentage increasl es such as saies tax or customs duties could be more accurately passed on to the consumer than at present. 8. Saving of time during education and throughout life by the elimini ation of the need for calculating in compound arithmetic in all calculations involving money. 9. As the decimal system of coinage is almost universally adopted in foreign eountries, its adoption in New Zealand might tend to promote foreign trade expansion. The decimal system is widely used within the Empire, and the recent South African decision would appear to indicate an increasing trend within the Empire towards that system. The Disadvantages. The disadvantages set out by the 1 committee are as follows: — 1. Difficulty in deciding the most suitable basis of decimal coinage to be adopted to suit local conditions. All the present disabilities i.e. (a) a decimal system based on the penny at its present value would cause the • identity of the pound to be lost, thus . disturbing the Dominion link with sterling; (b) the adoption of the pound and mil system or the crown 1 system would not be readily acceptable owing to the impossibility of retaining the penny at its present value, which represents the price basis of innumerable commodities sold and services rendered internally. 2. Transitional difficulties arising through old and new coins not being 1 exactly interchangeable. 3. Cost to community of changeover. New or converted accounting machines, stationery, tables of charges, rates, insurance premiums, commercial costing and price lists, etc., •together with extra clerical work necessary in the initial stages would involve substantial additional expenditure. 4. Cost of new accounting machines and similar appliances would not be distributed in the Dominion as supplies come from overseas and not necessarily within the Empire. 5. On account of prevailing eeonomic conditions, present time most inopportune for these additional costs ..o be imposed on the community. 6. Introduction of decimal coinage would be further disturbing factor it a time when commodity values are in a state of fluctuation. 7. Although the decimal system presents distinct accounting advancages the fractional system is more convenient to retailers owing to ■ greater divisibility. 8. Reduced liability to error in accounting may be overstressed. Ali though the existing system is more in- ! volved, the use of calculating machines minimises the possibility of error with the present system. 9. As by far the greater volume of the Dominion's external trade at the present time is with Great Britain, vhere the fractional system of coinage is used, any departure from our : present system of coinage and money would tend to complicate rather than symplify transactions in this connection. 10. Any advantages that would j otherwise accrue from the decimal system are minimised to some extenl [ while the present binary system oi 1 vveights and measures obtain.

Total Taxation £ per head 1931 18,878,285 12 12 1 1932 17,405,622 11 9 6 1933 19,703,703 12 17 9

£ 1931 4,003,606 1932 4,447,814 1933 3,556,775

Amusement Totalisator tax tax £ £ 1931 105,936 529,143 1932 74,763 410,878 1933 53,564 302,371