Passing Petrol Tax on to the Public

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 192, 3 November 1927, Page 16

Passing Petrol Tax on to the Public

SOME STATIONS RAISE PRICE DISSATISFACTION VOICED (from Our Resident Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday. While an expression of opinion here must necessarily be in the category of the city viewpoint, there is widespread dissatisfaction in and around Wellington at the Government’s proposal to impose a tax of 4d a gallon on all petrol coming into the country. All sections of the community that are interested in the price of petrol have received the increase very coldly, and a suggestion has been made in one quarter that the great benefit which people enjoyed through the importation of petrol in bulk has been nullified by companies being compelled to pass the extra tax on to the individual consumer. Great expenditure was incurred by several companies in erecting tanks and installing machinery, and large stocks of petrol are held continually at the storage area at Miramar. No figures as to the quantities on hand will be disclosed by heads of these companies, who are equally reticent as to when the increase in price is to be passed on to the retail distributors, thence to the public. «ome companies admit that they are communicating with their head offices overseas for a specific indication o£ policy. RISE ANTICIPATED Several retail service stations have anticipated the rise, however, and, in spite of the warning note which the Prime Minister issued in the House on Monday, that such action would be unwise, have raised the price of petrol purchased in any quantity by 4d a gallon. This naturally has caused resentment among motorists unci users of commercial vehicles, w*ho assert with some justice that a fair thing would have been to wait till the increased duty on imported spirit forced the price up. The retail price of petrol here has not risen generally, however, and stations that have taken advantage of their clients’ position are more or less isolated. Some commercial men say it will be interesting to see whether Air. Coates’s warning to stations not to raise the price prematurely was an idle utterance, or a tangible threat against exploitation It is not likely that a general move to increase the price will be made till the companies concerned have conferred, and decided upon a course of concerted action. Meanwhile individual motorists are exercising a healthy discrimination in the choice of service *tations when thefy are filling up. SERVICE CAR OWNERS’ POINT OF VIEW “NOT MUCH DIFFERENCE” (Special to THE SUN.) WANGANUI, Wednesday. The petrol tax is now being freely discussed, the general consensus of opinion among motorists being that, while the petrol tax was a fair way of taxation, 4d per gallon is far too high. A service car proprietor considered that it will not make so much difference as some owners of cars seem to think. For instance, he says, the extra cost on the run of a service car from Wanganui to Wellington would mean about 4s which, spread over several passengers, would not amount to very much. As far as affecting motor competition against the railways it did not make the slightest difference. One tiling, lie hoped, was that the money would be all applied to making good roads. In the end this would mean a saving to motorists in the cost of tyres.