Sunderstanding

Income Tax

Cook Islands?

QCH of the Cook Islanders’ agitation over the application of NZ income taxation to the ids appears to be due to a mderstanding of the position, i certainly is the case at igaia. any people outside Rarotonga ive that all earnings, however 11. will be taxed. They have yet been told about the annual unt at which taxation begins or it the exceptions allowed.

Europeans have been surprised he failure of the authorities to public meetings at which the me could be carefully ex led. In the case of most iders, knowledge of events is 5d at the village raintank. to inspectors who made a dilig round of stores, etc., assembling icial facts, are said to have surprised at the simple systems nonly adopted in Islands trade, o, the authorities must have unaware of the marked differ between Islands trading and trading. At all events, the tion officials received civil co ition all round the Group, me Islanders maintain that ; is no point in paying a tax vhich neither representation in ament nor tangible Island re -3 may be expected. Yet some

of these critics earn more than many Europeans who are paying tax in the Islands.

The non-application to Cl of social security provisions under which, for example, the NZ Maori receives 10 - weekly for each of his children, is another Cl “grouch.”

Islanders persistently overlook the point that their NZ cousins must pay social security taxation of 16 in the £ on all earnings and, in many cases, income tax as well, and that Islanders in mainland jobs also pay both if their earnings bring

them into the income tax net.

EG.