The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1890

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3677, 2 December 1890, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1890

The average working man doubtless expends somewhat about £OO per annum on his groceries, draperies and general stores, If betakes the trouble to go into the ques'ion of the original cost of tlio various goods which make up his annual expenditure bo will probably find that for £OO, lie has received £4O worth of goods and that lie has paid £lO for Customs Duties levied on them, and another £lO for merchants profits, storekeepers profits and for tlio credit fi'liifli Jie receives, He may, too, though it is very iinprobablo, be charged halfacrown or so for his contribution towards the Property Tax. Merchandise is assessed by the Property Tax Department, but we fancy it gets off very lightly and that it doos not put halfa crown on to goods vliieh wheii retail/id amount to sixty po,unds. At any rate this the position, the working man pays taxes in something like {he following proportion,

£»» Property tox 0 2 () per annum Customs 10 0 0 „ and lie is. in many instances simple enough to believe that it is the half crown property tax uhich is crushing hitn, and not the £lO. Do the working pipn'j fiends, the Liberal candidates, tell tfam tjip truth, do they say to him you ara pa'ylug one half crown a year towards tlio property tax, and eighty half crowns a pw towards the customs duties ? 'No! tji/jy donpt mention this, to him but, lead him tp believe jk(it ig the properly tns tliaf keeps him poor We do not believe that fhjoro is a forking man in the community who does not pay something about £lO in customs duties, and who could not, if lie had the wit to do it, reduce this £lO io (ft £O. 1/ tlje leaders in whom the working )m have confidence only showed them lio'w to do tbisj instead of humbugging them about d paltry property tax, which does not materially touch their pookets, tlioy v/otild deserve the trust which is so foolishly lapsed ia them,