Approved

Local Income Tax

[?]N Cook Islands

rE Cook Islands Legislative Council decided on October 19 that New Zealand income tax lould be replaced by local income ,x of a simple nature and with wer rates.

The Treasurer (Mr. Pitt) said lat objections to the present stem were based on the points at the tax was imposed from New jaland without consideration for cal conditions, and that the ob btors did not favour income tax a form of taxation.

The second contention, said Mr. tt. was based largely on ignorance the operation of income tax. r en Maori Councillors did not Uy understand it.

Professor H. Belshaw, one of the b economic advisers to the Cook ands Administration, said that it mid not be wise to omit income k from any local system of ration, which would have to be a simplified form and operated a low rate. Future Councils would ve the power to make adjustments the system when the need arose, added. \ clear programme to educate the tori people in the workings of cation, and particularly income c was needed, said Professor Ishaw.

rE Resident Commissioner (Mr.

G. Nevill) said it was good common sense for the people of the Cook Islands to impose their own system of taxation. He added that the report made by Professor Belshaw and Mr. V. D. Stace con tained nothing that was not for the good of the Maori people.

During the debate the Maori members from the outer islands relinquished their earlier objections to income tax and joined other members of the Council in approv ing the Belshaw-Stace report.

Other recommendations approved were: • That a schedule of local cus toms duties be instituted to replace the New Zealand customs tariff; • That export duties remain as at present, but that some con sideration be given to using the pro ceeds of export duties for direct development of the export indus tries concerned, or for the develop ment of the individual islands producing the exports.

The New Zealand Parliamentary representative, Mr. F. Goetz, MP for Manukau, congratulated the Council on its action. He said that the Dominion Government would not have been happy to see income tax omitted from any local system of taxation. The Prime Minister (Mr.

S. G. Holland) had expressed the hope that the Legislative Council would accept the recommendations, and now that this had been done he (Mr. Goetz) thought there would be little difficulty in securing the

Government’s adoption of the Coun cil’s decision.

EARLIER the Council had un animously approved a Select Committee’s report on public utilities.

The report recommended that the Island Councils be responsible for the control of water, roads and im provements to harbours and reef passages. Funds are to be raised by the Councils, supplemented by voluntary labour. If outside aid is needed, funds allocated by the Legislative Council from locally raised taxes may be used.