SOCIAL SECURITY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 46, 24 February 1939, Page 7

SOCIAL SECURITY

LIABILITY DEFINED ISSUE OF REGULATIONS INFORMATION FOR TAXPAYERS [ Per Prose Association.] WELLINGTON, Feb. 23.

The long-awaited "Social Security Contribution Regulations 1939” dealing with registration, issue of coupon books, exemptions, charges on wages and salaries etcetera, in other words what the individual’s commitments are to the Government under the Act, is issued under separate cover with to-night's Gazette. After the preamble, the first portion of the regulations deals with the question of registration fee and coupon books. The procedure with regard to these questions is in the main the same as that under the Employment Act, with the exception that women and all persons over 16 are liable. Persons who are required to register and fail to do so before the last day of the first instalment of the registration fee commit an offence against the regulations. If coupon books are lost or destroyed, new ones can be obtained on payment of Is fee. Exemptions from the registration fee already have been outlined. They include persons resident in New Zealand acting as consuls, vice-consuls, or official representatives of Governments of other countries who devote the whole of their time to such duties, and those suffering from total disablement as a result of service during the great war. Interesting Clause. Another interesting clause exempts any person who, on the date of any instalment and for at least the whole of the month commencing on such date, is in receipt of monetary benefit payable to him on his own behalf from the social security fund “not being superannuation benefit or a family benefit” and who is not in receipt of any salary or wages or other income.

Others exempt from the registration fee include inmates of mental hospitals, inmates of public and private institutions for relief of aged, needy or infirm persons, or of any public hospital established under the Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Act, as well as inmates of prisons, reformatories or Borstal institutions.

Those enrolled as students of educational institutions are also exempt, as are members of religious bodies whose rules forbid the possession of property and registered unemployed. With regard to those who are absent from the Dominion, the exemption regulations state: “Any person who is liable for the registration fee and who ceases to be ordinarily resident in New Zealand, shall not be liable for any instalment of the registration fee that becomes due after the date of his ceasing to be so ordinarily resident.”

Personal representatives of deceased persons “are also not liable for instalments of registration fees that would have been payable by deceased persons had they not died.” Maintenance or allowances provided for those attending educational institutions in terms of scholarships or bursaries, will not be deemed to be salaries or wages or other income. The regulations make provision that should questions arise regarding payments under scholarships or bursaries such questions shall be determined by the Minister of Finance, whose decision will be final. Duties of Employers. After outlining the procedure to be observed where exemptions are claimed, the regulations go on to deal with the duties of employers of labour in connection with the employee's registration fee. They state that every employer, upon commencement of the employment of a person and thereafter during employment shall, upon the first working day in each of the months of March, June, September and December, require the employee to produce his coupon book showing that the current instalment has been paid. If such amounts are not paid, unless exemption is granted, the employer is empowered to deduct the instalment due from the employee's wages and pay it to the authorities by purchase of social security stamps. (Employers failing to do so commit an offence on each day during which the (employment of the erring employee continues.

Provision also is made for employers to collect registration-fees from employees and pay them to the authorities. Exemptions From Charge. The next portion of the regulations deals with exemptions from the social security charge. These, in the main, are the same as exemptions from payment of registration fee, but -in this case persons in receipt of sick nay from friendly societies and those in receipt of pensions or other benefits under any Act or Act repealed by the Social Security Act, are exempt as

well. Under this section every person, including companies shall, in respect of each year, be exempt from liability to pay the social security charge upon such portion of income as has been paid during the year by way of contribution to a fund established for the benefit of employees—in other words a superannuation fund. Most clauses, dealing with charges on salaries and wages, the issue of social security stamps, charges on income other than salary or wages, substituted balance dates and provisional declarations are of a machinery nature and have been covered by various explanations of the Act given by Ministers and other authorities from time to time.

Charge On Companies. Clause 17 in the regulations, dealing with companies, is new. It states that ‘a charge payable by every company on its chargeable income for any year shall be due and payable in the same manner and on the same dates as is the charge payable by persons other than companies, the first such paymen? being the quarterly instalment due and payable on May 1, 1939, and being in respect of income derived, or by force of the Act or of the regulations deemed to have been derived for

the financial year ended March 31 immediately preceding. The charges payable by companies in liquidation are also provided for. One of the last clauses is that affecting persons leaving New Zealand. This states that the Commissioner of Taxes may issue a certificate to a person about to leave the Dominion that such person is not liable to pay the social security contribution, that such contribution has been paid or that arrangements have been made for the payment of a contribution that may be due. Unless such a certificate has been issued, authorities for travel will not be issued. Any person contravening this regulation and issuing an unauthorised travel permit shall be personally liable for payment of the social security contribution due by the traveller.