FREE ENTERPRISE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 September 1943, Page 3

FREE ENTERPRISE

AND CONSIDERATION FOR ALL NATIONAL PARTY POLICY ADDRESS BY MR. HOLLAND LAST EVENING. FIVE-PRONG PROGRAMME. LRv Telegraph—Press Association.) Bi CHRISTCHURCH, August 31, What he termed “a fiveprong programme” lor a New Zealand of happy families, Jiving in their own homes and without unemployment and avoidable sickness, was expounded by the Leader ol the National Party, Mr S. G. Holland, when he opened the party’s election campaign in an address in the Theatre Royal tonight. (

Mr Holland said the party’s policy •meant happiness for the masses, prosperity for those who did then share, and security for those who could not do their share. “We will give the people good government without class discrimination, without fear, and with honesty and consideration for. every citizen,” he .said. The National Party believed that the people were happiest when most free from Government dictation, and in a system where they lived in their own homes and ran their own farms and factories, and in which the Government served the people, and not the other way round, he said. They subscribed to a system of competitive free enterprise, in which people who worked hard were better off than those who slacked, people liked to do their own thinking, and where industry, enterprise and thrift were virtues' to be rewarded rather than -looked on as .to be penalized. Broadly speaking, the policy was under five headlings —work for all; a planned attack on the causes of want; the restoration of personal freedom; justice to the parents of families; the building of homes for the people to own. Mr Holland’s audience numbered about 1450. He was given an extremely good reception with very few interjections. The Mayor, Mr E. H. Andrews, presided. Mr W. S. Mac Gibbon, moving a yote of thanks, said that in view of the enthusiasm shown by the audience it would be superfluous to include confidence in the motion. A resolution of thanks was carried by acclamation. REVISION OF TAXATION. Several proposals for the revision of taxation were given in detail by Mr Holland.' He said that taxation was inequitably applied. With the objective of restoring individual independence and reducing the need for • State payments, the National Party proposed to introduce a sliding scale of wages tax according to the size of the family, so that no man’s income would fall below a specified minimum adequate to maintain a family of that size. Age benefits under Social Security paid no tax, but thrifty peojole on lower incomes were very unjustly treated. Those people who had saved—public servants, superannuitants, and widows with legacies —could not get the age benefit, and in addition they were taxed for social and national security. In addition, income from small investments paid a 33 1-3 per cent, penalty income tax, and he hoped to remove that some day. So as to encourage thrift and reward self-reliance, the party proposed the following taxation releaf for persons over 60 years of up to £3, no tax; up to £4, lOd. in the £; up to £5, Is. Bd. in the £; up to £6, and over, 2s. 6d. in the £, as at present. A promise that hospital rating would be revised so as to remove present injustices was made by Mr Holland. He said it was inequitable that a person might have a very large annual income and pay nothing by way of hospital rates, while another person who had even a small section of land found himself liable for the payment of hospital rates. The problem would be tackled in two stages. First, rating would revert to what it was before the introduction of Social Security, and subsequent increases would be taken off the land; and, second, at a later stage he hoped that all hospital rating would be removed from the land, both town and country. EXEMPTIONS PROPOSED. The existing income tax exemptions for families were inadequate. The present exemption of £5O for a wife and each child would be extended to £75, < and the exemption for children would continue beyond the age of 18 years, while they were learning and not earning. The injustice of the position by which a man earning £B, but receiving only £7 in his pay envelope, was taxed on the full amount of £B, would be removed as quickly as possible. Many farmers, manufacturers, and others affected found that, because of their inability to secure labour and materials for maintenance purposes on their farms and in their factories in a normal way, their normal profits on which they were taxed had increased, requiring them to pay taxation on a false basis. To correct this injustice, the National Party would permit taxpayers to establish maintenance reserves which would be available for doing maintenance work when labour and supplies became available. These maintenance reserves would be deductable from taxpayer’s assessable income. In view of the present state of the War Damage Insurance Fund and of the vastly improved war situation, said Mr Holland, war damage insurance would be discontinued, as he considered the present fund was ample for the purpose. Service men returning to New Zealand and setting up home found that the furniture they required was subject to 20 per cent, sales tax. This would be rebated, said Mr Holland, and with a view to effecting a substantial reduction in the cost of housebuilding in New Zealand the National Party would remove the sales tax on building materials for new homes. This would result in a saving of £lOO a house. MAKING MONEY WORK. “All over the world the money system has been made to work for war and it can be made to work for jieace,” declared Mr Holland when answering the question—“ Where’s the money coming from?” The time was long since past when money exercised a virtual dictatorship. If Parliament in the early days of the war had been asked to vote £150,000,000 for one year’s war, they