GOVERNMENT WASTE.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 June 1921, Page 5

GOVERNMENT WASTE.

INCREASE IN EXPENDITURE. BURDENS OF TAXATION. By Telegraph—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. -At a meeting of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce to-day the president (Mr. M. A. Carr) referred to the problem of expenditure of public money and he claimed that a large reduetion in departmental expenditure must be effected to save the country from grievous trouble. The total expenditure for the year ending March 31 showed an increase of £16,243,000 on the total in 1914 and to meet the expenditure taxation had become a crushing burden. For the year ended March 31 taxation direct and indirect totalled £22,453,074, equivalent to £l9 Os Id per head of the population, compared with £-5 10s in 1914. When the values of the Dominion’s products were high there was no great outcry against a heavy increase, of taxation, though the burden was beginning to cause grave anxiety to business men. Now the times had changed and there was a fall in wool, meat and other products, and the Government must adjust expenditure and taxation to meet the new position, and failure to do so would court disaster. The Government’s cry of more production cannot be encouraged by more taxation; oppressive taxa? tion cheeks enterprise, hinders the development of resources, and discourages thrift, while intolerably heavy taxation defeats? the object for which it was levied. Mr. Carr referred to New Zealand’s company taxation, which was the largest in the world. He instanced the possibilities of unfairness, small shareholders having to pay 8s fid in the £l. Mr. Carr said ways and means mutt be found to reduce the present huge spending, but while the Government says it recognises that reductions of expenditure are necessary any retrenchment is postponed and the lead given is nut that required by the country. The pruning knife should be applied to all Government departments and economy should start from the top and not from the bottom.