The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1917 BUSINESS AND TAXATION.

Taihape Daily Times, 9 November 1917, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1917 BUSINESS AND TAXATION.

(With which is incorporated The Taihape Post and Waimarino News).

Increased production has "been vigorously urged by this ' journal ...as the, only means left to this country where; by increased taxation may be j met without incurring a period of depression and semi-famine, New Zealand is not producing up to a standard that it most assuredly should' do; it is getting more money for w r hat is produces, creating the fallacy that production is increasing. It is as well to realise the position that business men in towns will find themselves in if the producing industries are not encouraged to greater 1 action. Take a country newspaper business and it is found that taxation and increased cost of everything required in producing a newspaper is such as to render them unprofitable, and the result is that many newspapers are ceasing publication and others are falling back to three issues a week. Others with more doggedness set about getting an increase of business to meet the increases as the necessities of Government for war purposes becomes more intense. This cannot go on ad infinitum, and sooner or later, the weakest must go to the wall. The newspaper business is taken as an example, but although other businesses have not yet suffered to the same extent their time must come, and those conducting them will realise this if they woll only study the burdens that Government are laying upon them and their prospective customers. Since 1911 taxation per head of population has doubled. Do we realise- the significance of this terrible increase to, say, a family of four? In 1911 the head of such a family paid £l9 7s Sd on a per capita basis, on 31st March last he had to pay £3B 7s Sd. It has increased since, and, with promised additions to customs duties, it is likely to approxi mate one pound per week for the four-in-family man. In one year per capita taxation has increased by 33 per cent, with the probability that another 33 per cent, will be added during the current year. We urge increased production because it is so obvious that unless cost of living i s reduced, which is an economic impossibility with rising taxation, rising wages and a decreasing production, the people of this country are facing a very black fut-

ure indeed'j -we cannot avoid it unless we produce more. The cost of running the national business is now out of all relationship with its income, what are we going to do? We cannot reduce expenditure, the war and wasteful conduct is forcing an increase upon us; then we must increase our earnings to cope with the difficulty. In other words we must produce more so that we may have more to sell. If a few professional politicians are blinded by self-interest to what is inevitable, there is no occasion for producers and the business community to be dragged to ruin. In "one year customs duties increased by three-quarters of a million, income tax by over three millions ether taxes by over three hundred thousand. We snould be glad to know what businessmen 'are doing to meet ■thif new burdens which fall so heavily upon them arid their custotaers. True, a' conference of Chambers 'of Commerce is shortly to be there is some indication that the only means of salvation for them-—increased production—is to be discussed, but from businessmen all over the country there should come such a vigorous backing to the proposition that even a National Government dare not disregard. In addition to the £10,549,654 collected by the General Government last year a further £2,542,220 was collected by local bodies. This increases the per capita obligations of the family of four, as. stated above, very consider! ably. It is doubtful whether heads of families think it worth while to give a little time to' considering financial position in relation to the State. If the head of a family of four will consult the public accounts his indebtedness may surprise him; he will find that he owed at 31st March last. £456 3s. At the present time he owes verj' much more; and this is all apart from the huge sum he pays annually as taxation for general government and local government administration. With decreasing population, decreasing spending power and decreasing production what the inevitable of business generally will be, and what the condition of the people will be, needs no prophet to- foretell. It seems unbe lievable that a virile people should sit and wait for the calamity to overtake them while there is a- ready way out of their- difficulty. A cry should go out from every man and woman in our land so insistent for increased'production that, no p . man. dare, : ,oppqse it. Greed and jealously arc largely responsible for flocking the road to Increased production, but if self-interest' .and pettifogging considerations . are permitted.to run riot the whole'body politic ..pust ..suffer. Let us nave increased production at any cost; let us run our national business with as much business care as we do our private'"busihcsses. If we could increase the' stocks ; on our shelves without additional outlay we should undoubtedly do it,' then ' why not increase the''national stock of produce, which does 1 ; n'ot'' involve increase of taxation, 'sd''t'ha£-we''may : have , more ■to sell; more" to'pay our way with; more to feed' oiir people with, and sufficient to prevent the nation falling into the direst straits,, and: the masses into famine?