WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taranaki Daily News, 23 December 1921, Page 7

WELLINGTON TOPICS

THE FINANCE BILL. A MEASURE OF EXPEDIENCY. (Special Correspondent.) Wellington, Dec. 19. Though the Finance Bill is not the “financial sham” and “piece of political hypocrisy” the Leader of the Opposition described it to be, it certainly must be numbered among the least impressive expedients to which Ministers of Finance in times of stress have been driven in this country. In order to redeem, or partially redeem, his promise to grant some reduction in the income tax, Mr. Massey was compelled to dredge in twice dredged waters to find the additional revenue required to cover the amount of |he concession. His chief hauls were represented by an increase in the amusement tax and the totalisator and stakes taxes, by which, with a few pounds gathered from other sources, he proposed to make a concession to cost £300,000 a year, so, if everything works out as expected, the Treasury will be £lOO,OOO a year better off by the move. HARD PRESSED. Mr. Massey did not pretend that his proposals were entirely satisfactory to himself. He would have liked to do much more he admitted, but he had done all the circumstances would allow. The most urgent needs, however, were reductions in land tax and income tax. The prosperity of the country was being gravely affected by the very high charges made necessary by the pressing requirements of the hour. Companies and individuals were being compelled to pay more than they could afford to pay, and business was being hampered and disorganised in consequence. With all this the House, with the exception of the extreme Labor section,, readily agreed, and even some of the Minister’s friends expressed surprise that he proposed no more than a reduction of 5 per cent, for prompt payment of income tax. This, with the similar concession in regard to the land tax, will make a total reduction of £450,000. Mr. Holland and his followers announced promptly that they would exhaust every form of the House in opposition to the reduction in the income tax, and Mr. Holland himself made a demonstration in this direction last night,, but the forms of the House in these days do not provide facilities for indefinite obstruction by a handful of members, and it is quite probable the member for Buller will return from the holidays in a less bellicose frame of mind. AMUSEMENT AND SPORT. Many members of the House are inclined to think that the Prime Minister is placing too heavy burdens upon amusement and sport, and that the effect >of the new taxation may go a long way towards killing the two geese that have been laying golden eggs for the Treasury during the last two or three years. Mr. Massey has listened to warnings in this respect so far as the amusement tax is concerned, and may remove the additional impost from lower priced seats, but he is disinclined to give any relief to the broad back of racing. Members of racing clubs among his friends, he said last night, had told him that, realising that he must have the money, they would put up with the new demands. But the new demands are going to affect horse-owners and race-goers even more intimately than they will affect. members of racing clubs, and they, after all, are the people upon, whom the prosperity of the sport and its ability to keep on contributing large sums to the public revenue chiefly depend. ECONOMIES. The debate on the second reading of the Finance Bill covered a good deal of ground, but the Prime Minister was the only speaker that gave any serious attention to the question of retrenchment, and even his reference to the subject was a little unsatisfying., He realised,, he said, that the task of reducing expenditure and getting the finances of the Dominion on to a sound footing again was a very big on?.. But progress was being made, although the results of the Government’s efforts would not become apparent all at once. Many people were being retired from the public survice, but most of them were entitled to some period of leave on pay, so that the saving could not begin immediately. A very great deal of retrenchment had been done and very much more remained to be done. All this, of course, is familiar talk, so far it has been followed by no very tangible performances. The plain truth is that Mr. Massey is receiving very little assistance in his economy campaign from either side of the House, and must sometimes doubt if even the outside public is sincere in its reiterated demand for the reduction of expenditure.

AN UNEXPECTED WITNESS. The wisdom of having the Departmental estimates revised by the Finance Committee before submitting them to Parliament was deons-t rated this year by their returning to the House reduced by rather more than a quarter of a million. The biggest reduction was in the Defence Department, where a cool £lOO,000 was docked off the official figures. Doubtless the Committee was moved towards this drastic action by the frank report of Major-General Sir Edward Chaytor, the Commandant of the Forces. “The centralising of the transport and supply services of the State into one organisation. in order to reduce overhead charges and duplication of expenditure by various departments, is recommended,” the General wrote in one paragraph. “It is considered that if a centralised system were adopted at the chief centres, with due regard to business methods and the need in war of standardised patterns of vehicles,economies of a far-reaching nature would be effected,, and the requirements for the defence of the Dominion in a national emergency more easily met.” The public has not been encouraged to look for exponents of economy among the high officers of the Defence Department, but General Chaytor has provided an exception the country will welcome very heartily. THAT FARMERS’ DEPUTATION. The executive of the Sheepowners' and Farmers’ Federation appears to have suffered the fate popularly known as jumping out of the frying pan into the fire in its hasty attempt to dissociate itself from something it imagined had been said by the big farmers’ deputation which waited upon Mr. Massey a month or two ago. First of all it wrote to the Prime Minister, roundly disapproving of the statements made by the spokesmen of the deputation. Badly bowled out in this effort to relieve itself of responsibility, it declared its hasty concurrence with all Mr. W. D. Hunt, the principal spokesman, had s.iid, but hinted at some indiscretion on the part of | other speakers. Now Mr. W. J, Polson

has entered the list and shown that what he and the other minor speakers said was merely in support of Mr. Hunt’s case. And so the Federation finds itself with all its excuses expended and its position less dignified than ever.