CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 305, 3 June 1915, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

A NICE PROBLEM. The intentions of tho Government with regard to special war taxation remain wrapped in mystery. Questions put to Ministers upon the subject elicit nothing more than a shake of the head or a knowing smile, and although predictions are to he heard on all sides, the actual proposals of the Ministry probably will not be made known until the Minister of Finance explains them to tho Houso of Representatives a few weeks hence. One gathers an impression that a portion at least of tho additional taxation will be placed upon the big estates. Opponents of the Ministry may interpret this, if they will, as a sop to the Liberal-Labor section of the community. But incomes, and especially large incomes, are not likely to escape. The difficulty is that the income tax is levied not on the incomes for the current year, but on the income for the preceding year, as described in the returns forwarded to the Taxation Department. Under these conditions an alteration in the incidence of the tax for the purpose of meeting war expenditure might fall heavily on the man whose income has risen sharply owing to enhanced prices. The Minister of Finance, whoever he may be. two months hence, will have a nice problem to solve.