IMPERIAL CONFERENCE

Taranaki Daily News, 20 November 1926, Page 15

IMPERIAL CONFERENCE

FORESTRY AND SETTLEMENT RETORT of the committee. PROBLEMS OF TAXATION. By Telegraph—-Press Assn. —Copyright. London, Nov. 18. The Imperial Conference Forestry sub-committee’s report suggests the development of the settlement schemes in connection with afforestation noted in recent effective Empire organisation. The sub-committee welcomed the invitation of the Australian and New Zealand Governments to hold the third forestry conference there in 1928, and recommended active preparation for and participation therein to the Governments of the Empire. • The sub'-eommittee referred the constitution of the Empire Forestry Bureau to the conference. Mr. Gepps, in an appendix to the report, emphasised the importance of the continuous production of timber, and drew attention to the possibilities of settling forest workers on agricultural land sufficient to occupy them when silvicultural work slackened. He urged the classification of forest and agricultural lands, the management of forest for continuance production, proper distribution, planting and thinning, the selection of suitable men, and the reasonable equipment of holdings. The Economic Sub-Committee, dealing with uniform taxation of the enterprises of foreign Governments, quoted the Australian and New Zealand delegates’ announcement that their Governments accepted the principle of taxation of Government trading enterprises, the existing law providing sufficient authority for the necessary assessments. The Commonwealth Government, however, is unable to bind the States. The sub-committee considered that in some measure inter-Imperial agreement warranted negotiating with foreign Governments with a view to concluding reciprocal agreements for mutual taxation of their trading enterprises. Regarding the taxation of non-resi-dent traders, the Economic Sub-Commit-tee reported that it was desirable to divide manufacturing and merchanting profits, restricting income-tax charges in the country of sale to the merchanting profit. The same committee, dealing with Mr. Bruce's suggestion for surveys of Empire trade, stressed the advantages of such surveys. It reviewed the existing publications on the subject, and urged that each survey should deal with one trade or group of allied trades as concisely as possible, systematically condensing the reports and avoiding duplication of effort. This will probably necessitate the creation of a statistical conference.

Received Nov. 19, 5.5 p.m. London, Nov. 18. Dinner engagements, and even in the Ipiperial Conference’s fifth week they are legion, went by the board to-night while the Premiers finally Wrestled with the two major allied questions of interImperial relations and treaty obligations.

It was not till 7.45, after sitting three hours at the Foreign Office, that they sorted out all the viewpoints and agreed to their report, which may be presented to the Conference to-morrow.

Though previously the two subjects have been handled by separate committees, they have been merged into one report with a resolution which, it is understood, will contain a broad general declaration which ail the Dominions can feel gives them a little more elbow room and conduces to a better understanding. The migration committee, at 10.30 to-morrow, will submit to the Conference a voluminous report, largely a review of the achievements and disappointments of the last three years. There are- long chapters devoted to rural housing, rural credits, absorption of ex-service men from Britain and India, land settlements, and the extension of social insurance, but the resolution will be couched in general terms. It will recognise the impossibility of any mass movement from Britain, and will urge adherence to the existing policy with an immediate investigation of the possibilities of its elaboration. It is understood that the Premiers this afternoon will also discuss the international aspects of migration. It is agreed that there should be a strong Empire attitude to ensure each Dominion keeping its own immigration in its own hands, no matter what atempts may be made at Geneva, or elsewhere, to create an international organisation. The Imperial Communication Committee further examined Sir James Connelly in reference to his fast ship scheme. There will be two plenary sessions of the Conference, one to-morrow and one on Monday, when it is hoped to make a considerable clearance of the subjects and ensure the conclusion of the labours of the Conference on Tuesday.