A.—l

20

Section 3 makes special provision for the acquisition of land that may be acquired for the purposes of the principal Act. It provides that any such land may be taken compulsorily under the Public Works Act, 1908, and power is given to acquire land under this section that could not be acquired under the Land for Settlements Act. Section 6 enables the Minister of Finance to raise the sum of £500,000 for the purpose of providing funds for the acquisition of land under the last preceding section. Section 7 increases from £50,000 to £100,000 the amount that may be expended for the purposes of the administration of the principal Act. 1916, No. 5. The Land and Income Tax Act, 1916. —This Act is a consolidation and amendment of the law relating to the mode of assessment of land-tax and income-tax. The amount of taxation for the year is fixed by the Finance; Act (No. 7). The new Act makes comparatively little alteration of the law, but there lias been an entire reconstruction of its form. The present Act is divided into twelve subdivisions or Parts, as follows :— Part I: Administration. Part II: Returns of Assessments. Part III: Objections to Assessments. Part IV: Valuation of Land. Part V: Ordinary Land-tax. Part VI: Graduated Land-tax. Part VII: Land-tax on Native Land. Part VIII: Income-tax. Part IX: Agents. Part X : Recovery of Tax. Part XI: Penalties. Part XII: General. The main alterations in the law are the following : — (1.) The mortgage-tax provided for under the former Acts is abolished. In 1915 •this tax represented Id. in the pound of the capital value of all mortgages owned by a taxpayer. In lieu of this tax the interest derived by a mortgagee from moneys invested on mortgage is regarded as income, and is liable accordingly to income-tax. (2.) Section 92 gives relief against "double taxation" in certain cases. It provides that " income derived by a person resident in New Zealand but not derived from New Zealand shall be exempt from income-tax if and so far as the Commissioner is satisfied that it is derived from some other' country within the British dominions, and that it is chargeable with income-tax in that country." (3.) Special provisions are made with respect to the assessment for income-tax of companies carrying on the business of gold-mining and scheelite-mining. Such companies are made assessable for income-tax on an amount equal to half of the total sum paid during the income-year as dividends to shareholders. (4.) Sections 144-153 make new provisions for the assessment and recovery of a, penal tax in cases where any taxpayer evades or attempts to evade the payment of any tax. The rate of penal tax is fixed at treble the amount of deficient tax, and may be assessed and recovered by the Commissioner of Taxes in the same way as ordinary tax. 1916, No. 6. The Imprest Supply Act, 1916 (No. 2). —This Act appropriates the sum of £955,800 out of the Public Account and £16,000 from other specified accounts for the service of the year ending 31st March, 1917. 1916,. No. 7. The Finance Act, 1916. —This Act is divided into Parts as follows:— Part I: Land-tax and Income-tax, Part II: Excess-profits Duty. Part TIT : Public Revenues. Part IV: Banking and Loans. Part, V: Aid to Public Works and other Public Purposes. Part VI: Stamp Duty. Part VII: Public Trust Office. Part VIII: Post Office Savings-bank Deposits. Part IX : Social Insurance. Part I (Land-tax and Income-tax) fixes the rates of ordinary land-tax, graduated land-tax, and income-tax payable for the year commencing on the Ist day of April, 1916. In addition to the ordinary taxes there are imposed (by way of sjrecial taxation to meet the increased expenditure involved by the war) the following taxes :— (a.) Section 3 imposes an addition of 50 per cent, to the graduated land-tax that would otherwise be payable. (b.) Section 4 makes an addition of 33J. per cent, to the rate that would otherwise be payable as income-tax. (c.) Section 5 imposes further additional income-tax equal to 6d. in the pound on all assessable income up to £900, and Is. in the pound on all assessable income in other cases. Part II (relating to excess-profits duty) imposes special taxation on what are known as excess profits that may have been derived by a taxpayer during the yeai ended on the 31st day of March, 1916. The term " excess profits " is defined to mean the amount by which the assessable income of a taxpayer for the said year exceeds his standard inoome. The term "standard income" is defined to mean, at the election of the taxpayer, — (a.) The average yearly assessable income for the three years ended on the 31st of March, 1914; or