Taxation Attacked
Page 55
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JR. E. B. HAYNES promoted aetive indiseussion by his paper entitled " Storage rates in the light of decontrol." Storage rates for furniture have until recently been controlled as to the maximum charge's by a "standstill" order of the Board Of Trade. That • order, however, has now ceased to apply and furniture warehousemen were once again, faced with the problem of agreeing upon Orne rational method of charges for this service.
In former years. the Asociation issued a strong recommendation to members that they should Maintain minimum rates. That fixation of a minimum rite arose out of pricecutting and price-cutting arose out of competition and business conditions. Turnover, he said, had steadily :increased over the -past 35 years, but this increase was. not reflected in the
profit earned. • The author said that he was tww quite sure that the chief reason for the
lag of profits, despite increase in turnover, waS the gradual and insidious increase in taxation, including local taxation. Taking a particular example, that of his own eptieern, he stated that around 1908 its assessment was £997. income tax Is.; and ScheduleA demand just under £50. To-day. the assessment on the sante building is £1,650, tax a shilling in the pound and Schedule A demand amounts to 1:743—almost a 15-fold increase in 48 years. Rates, which were 5s. lld in 1900-nove stand
at 17s. 3d. . • He next dealt With the problem of assessing rates for storage under to-day's conditions. It is logical, he said, to assess any rental on the two factors of bulk and value. In his view it was both unfair and unwise to standardize warehouse rents. He suggested that the minimum storage rate per van-load of 600 cubic ft. in inner London should be 25s. or 30s. in respect of what might be called a working man's effects or lodging house furniture; that the ordinary furniture of the middle classes should have. a rate of 33s. 4d. Or £.5 per quarter), and that still better-quality deposits shouldpay 35s., rising in exceptional instances to £.2 per Wad maximum.