THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DILAY AT FOUR O'CLOCK F.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1879.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3370, 10 October 1879, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DILAY AT FOUR O'CLOCK F.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1879.

In oar telegrams will be seen, under the head of South Australia, that the Government of that colony are taking steps to levy a Property and Income Tax. Before many years we may expect a similar tax to be introduced in New Zealand, and the mode of working it; in a neighboring colony may be of use to our legislators. A peculiar mode is to be followed to collect the Income Tax, namely, by requiring all persons to forward a return to the Commissioner of Taxes, stating their income, if above £300 a year, with a cheque for the amount of the tax due by them, and all defaulters are to be refused the protection of the Courts of Law to recover debts due to them. Certainly it is a new feature in the collection of taxes, and if it works well will be a great saving to the Government, wlio always find the cost of the collection of their'taxes makes a considerable hole in tho amount received. Landlords in South Australia will be called upon to pay sixpence in She pound from all monies received by them from rents, and money lenders will be similarly treated. If such a law were in force in New Zealand in which so much money is invested in mortgages, as shown from late returns, a fair addition would be made to tho incoma of the Government. Probably tiie cry that capital is being driven oufc of the country would again be raised if such a measure were proposed; but our belief is that while investors can obtain 8,10 or 12 per cent, for money it will take much more than the cry of a land or income tax to frighten them out of the market. New Zealand to-day offers one of the best fields for such operations in the world, and the latest transactions of the Stock Exchange, London, show no diminution of confidence in New Zealand securities.