AUSTRALIA’S WAR TAX.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 95, 23 August 1915, Page 4

AUSTRALIA’S WAR TAX.

1 The Svdnov correspondent of tin* “Otago Daily Times.” writing on An”;- I nst nth, says;— Kederal Ministers do I not show themselves disposed to satis- ( I'y tin 1 eager desire of the public to t know the nature of the war income tax ' which the Commonwealth (lovernmenfc i intends to launch shortly. Th<> sche- i lule has been put before the Ketleral I Labour caucus, and although the pro- t feedings in caucus are supposed to he i strictly secret, some of the newspapers i iiavo succeeded in learning something

nl dtp schedule from. at :iny rate. one member ol the party. This lias led the Prime Minister to speak very angrily. Says Mr Fisher: “The information was dishonestly given and unpat riotieallyi published, and I hope 1 will tind the man who gave it. 1 will no longer be associated with him in any path of life. The man who gave the schedule could only have done so at the expense of his honor.” This does not. however, concern the public so much as do the details of the Government proposals. It seems that Mr Fisher and Ins Ministerial colleagues propose to ex-j empt from the war income tax incomes of £3 a week and under. The] tax will be on a sliding scale, from 3d in the pound on salaries under £SOO a year to the smashing rate of 5s in the pound on earnings of £7500 a year and over. This is as regards incomes from “personal exertion.” For incomes from property the proposed rates run from lUd in the pound up to 0s for £7OOO and over. It will be interesting to see bow the mouthpieces of the Liberal party will criticise these plans by the Labor Government for the taxation of wealth in view of the restraints imposed by the obligations of patriotism in relation to measures for dealing with the present national crisis.