OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 October 1942, Page 4

OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

TAXATION BURDENS

(To the Editor.) . ' , Sir—By the courtesy of a friend I ■ have just received clippings from your paper of comments by Mr J. Robertson, M.P. for Masterton, on your report of my speech on taxation. > I set out to prove two propositions— First: That tax’ation in New Zealand is much higher than is necessary efficiently to carry on the business .of the country. Second: That the burden of taxation bears with undue severity on the backs of wage-earners and their families and all other citizens of New Zealand who have to meet the ever-increasing cost ot living out of small incomes. As Mr Robertson has not questioned my figures in reference to increase of the Civil Service, I need not refer to them further. In proving my second point I stated that in earlier years there was but one tax on incomes, with a £3OO exemption, which excluded nearly all wage-earners from the tax. But now we have three taxes on income's, namely, the old income tax, mentioned above, the Social Security tax of Is in the pound, and the National Sbciility lax of Is 6d in the pound. These two latter taxes are collected together by a deduction of 2s 6d in the pound from all wages and salaries, and without any important exemptions, Mr Robertson’s claim that my estimate of this charge on all incomes overstated the position by 150 per cent proves my case for me, because any given number of half-crowns will always add up to 150 per cent more than the same number of shillings.—l am, etc W. A. VEITGH. Wellington, October 10.