“TICK-TOCKS” TAX

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 174, 13 October 1927, Page 9

“TICK-TOCKS” TAX

MINISTER VEXED MUST HAVE REVENUE LABOUR’S CRITICISMS (THE SUN’S Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday. “T HAVE made concessions in x Customs revenue amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds, and I have not yet heard a word of thank*,” burst out the Minister of Customs, the Hon. W. Downie Stewart, with a touch of bitterness a *. e . r ®plied to a bombardment of criticism from the Labour benches in the Hcuse of Representatives today on the subject of revenue and protective tariffs. Labour’s argument was that the Minister had ai med at a revenue-producing tariff'; the Minister contended that he must have some revenue, but this was not the chief object of the tariff revision. It was Mir. M. J. Savage, member for Auckland West, who rose to make clear the attitude of his party on the question. He queried the item in the Customs Bill which proposed an extra 5 per cent, duty on clocks and timepieces. His side of the House had stood for protective tariffs all the time, but he could not see how a tariff could be protective and revenue-producing as well. The Minister: How can a tariff be protective and yet producing no revenue? Mr. Savage: When we want revenue we go to those who can provide it*, and not to the man with the big family and the small income. But the Minister admits that this is not a protective tariff. The Minister (hastily): I do not. Mr. Savage: I asked the question of the Minister, and he said The Minister: I said this was a revenue-producing item, but not that the tariff was a revenue-producing one. Mr. Savage: Well, I say now tha.t the tariff is largely a revenue-produc-ing one. The Minister: Well, make yourself clear and do not misrepresent me. Mr. Savage: I am making myself clear now.. WHAT DO YOU WANT? The Minister said he had not received a word of thanks for the remissions which ho had effected to the extent of hundreds of thousands of pounds. If it went on like this, the position would get down to that point where there would be no revenue derived from the tariff at all. “How am I going to work out my revenue?” he asked. “Do you want me to put the extra burden on to the land or the income-tax? If not, what do you want? We must have some revenue*, and this is the first item which could have been pointed to as purely a revenue-producing one. We must have some revenue, otherwise we will have to make it up on direct taxation. But so long as it is realised that there must be a reasonable share of the revenue come from customs taxation, there must be some items that are not unduly burdensome to the public, but which are to produce revenue. Mr. Savage: I want a definite statement/ as to what the objective is. We on this side of the House say that the Minister is raising money from the people who are least able to pay. If the Minister will admit this, there is no further need for anything to be .said, because the Minister had admitted that the man with the big family and the small income should be taxed. The Minister: I said nothing of the sort. There is only some revenue from these sources.

Mr. Savage: No revenue should come from these sources so long as there are sources from which a greater supply could be obtained. Mr. W. A. Veitch, member for Wanganui, said the attitude of the Government appeared to be that the best way to prevent the people spending too much money was to prevent them having too much money to spend. If more judicious methods had been adopted in handling the taxation problems of the past, public expenditure and taxation would have been lower at the present day. BURDEN ON POOR

The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. H. E. Holland, said the item which was being discussed emphasised the Government’s protection of the wealthy interest and the imposition of extra burden upon the poorer man. Mr. D. Jones: How much would it be In this case? Mr. H. E. Holland: That is always the cry. But my point is that the wealthy interests should be made to bear the burden—however small —and not the poor man. Mr. Jones: But we all buy clocks.

Mx*. Holland: Let these farmer members go to their constituents and tell them that they helped to put an extra duty on the alarm clocks that were to wake them up to milk the cows. Mr. J. A. Lee, member for Auckland East, said the Government was bolstering up the British industry and British enterprise at the expense of New Zealand industry. “We were led to believe that there would be huge remissions,” he said. The Minister: Have I not done that? Mr. Lee: I see no evidence of it. When we get to the end of the tariff we probably will find that the Minister has taken as much as he has given. Mr. A. M. Samuel, member for Ohinemuri, considered that the Minister was to be commended upon having given away so much. Where the working man would pay Is under this tariff the wealthy man would pay £l. Mr. Savage moved to have the 20 per cent. British preferential duty struck out and made free. This was almost p urely a party vote and was defeated by 47 votes to 16, only a few of the Nationalists voting with the Labour Party. The class was then adopted.