Fiji’s Customs Duties Cut

But Copra Tax To Go On

From Our Own Correspondent

Suva. Nov. 14.

THE most interesting occurrence at the opening of the Budget session of the Legislative Council of Fiji was the introduction of a Government motion revising the Customs tariff by a net re duction of about £65,000.

Broadly, the motion embodies the abolition of all import duties on food stuffs and agricultural and industrial machinery of British origin, while the duties on foreign goods in the same categories will be cut by the same amount.

Thus, if there is a British preferential duty on an article of 20 per cent, while the duty on a similar foreign article is 50 per cent., the British article will be duty-free when the new regulation comes into force, and the duty on the foreign article will be reduced to 30 per cent.

Proposed alterations to the Income Tax Ordinance are estimated to benefit the taxpayers by about £16,000 a year.

In the course of his opening address the Governor (Sir Brian Freeston) re ferred to these proposals. But, he con tinued: “On the other side of the taxa tion account, we are proposing to derive an additional £lOO,OOO of revenue from that section of the community which is undoubtedly the best able to spare it. I refer, of course, to the producers of copra, both European and Fijian.”

After mentioning that a copra tax had been foreshadowed by his predecessor (Sir Alexander Grantham) as long ago as April, 1947, Sir Brian added: “Aa the other principal exports of the Colony gold and sugar—are already subject to special taxation, it is difficult to see how, in common fairness, copra can claim to remain exempt from it. . . I would earnestly beg the opponents of the Bill (the Copra Tax Bill) not to expose the copra producers to the charge that they are preferring their own selfish interests to those of the community.”