ORCHARD REGISTRATION

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 219, 1 November 1916, Page 5

ORCHARD REGISTRATION

A MINISTERIAL MEMO. THE SHILLING TAX. Last week Mr C H. Poole,, M.P., wrote to the Minister of Agriculture on the subject of the registration and taxing of orchards, and has received the following reply:—"Received your letter re orchard tax, and comments noted. It i s extraordinary the construction the general public put on a very simple proposal. All that is asked under the Act is that every person who owns an orchard with one or more fruit trees, the names of which are specified on the registration form, shall register such orchard. It is unnecessary for the owner to specify varieties—simply state the number of trees and whether the orchard is a commercial one or merely for the owner's use. No one is asked to destroy a tree, and the registration is free. After the registration is completed orchards will be classified —that is to say one for the sale or export of fruit—will, under the Orchard Tax Act of last session, be liable to pay a tax of one shilling per acre per annum. It is not a Government tax 'for revenue purposes, but a levy asked for by fruitgrowers themselves, and the proceeds are to be used in developing the fruit industry. It is not with the view of exploiting the public, but with the view of putting a regular supply of fruit on the markets of New Zealand at all seasons of the year at reasonable Prices.—W D. S. McDonald."