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The Industry Appeals Against Excessive Taxation

19th October 1945
Page 28
Page 28, 19th October 1945 — The Industry Appeals Against Excessive Taxation
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

TWO important documents were, last week, circulated to all members of the House of Commons and she House of Lords by the S.M.M.T. Issued by the Parliamentary and Legal Council of the Motor Industry. the first deals with a " Statement of Taxation of Road Transport by the Interests Concerned," and the second with' the Purchase Tax.

The first document sets out clearly Site initial reason for the levy imposed on motor Vehicles, and -which constituted an agreement with the users of such vehicles. When Mr. Lloyd George introduced the tax, in 1909, be gave an undertaking to provide .roads suitable for use by modern forms of transport, and the tax was to pay for such roads.

Whilst users have, all along, been willing to contribute to the upkeep of a road system adequate to modern requirements, says the document, it must be conceded that no such system has been provided out of the sum of £806,000,000 which was collected from the operators of motor vehicles from 1921 to 1938 The purpose having now been abandoned, says the document, the tax has lost its justification.

The annual total cost of road construction and maintenance should be shared in equitable proportions by the community in general, and all the various types of vehicle which use the roads.

The cost of transport enters into the cost of production at each successive stage; a tax on transport, therefore, is an additional tax on trade and industry, which not only represents a heavy burden on the community, but also severely handicaps this country when endeavourin to compete in foreign countries.

The document discloses that, of the 39.000 villages ahd hamlets in the country, only 7,300 have a railway station, and many of the remainder are too scattered to he served by.

public transport. '

Both private and s public service -vehicles -effectively reduce the shortage of housing ,accommodation by enabling more houses to remain accessible and, therefore, occupied.

The basic principle that the signatories to the document wish to emphasize is that the present burden of taxation on road transport is so high as to present a grave disability to national progress. The signatories are: the IS.A.C., A.A., R.S.A.C., .M.A.A.. N.R.T.F., P.T.A.. and the S.M:M.T.

In the second document, a strong case is made for the repeal of the Purchase Tax. To quote a statement from it: " For the health of the motor industry; to further the policy of lull employment; to improve the standard of living and to make industry and travel more efficient, by encouraging volume production of the cheapest possible convenient passenger transport, it is essential that the Purchase Tax should be repealed Without delay."


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