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THE TREASURERS'
CONFERENCE
NEW FINANCIAL AGREEMENT.
UNIFORM TAXATION
RETURNS.
Melbourne, July 21.
The State Treasurers who had been con-
ferring with the Federal Treasurer on
financial and, other matters finished their
business after 11 o'clock on Saturday night
There was an interval on Saturday afternoon
to enable several visitors to attend
the races:. The financial question was
tackled afresh in the evening, and an agreement
was apparently arrived at with at
least a majority of the States both in regard
to loan money for works, and for
loan redemption up till the end of 1919,
which the Commonwealth Government are
to raise on their behalf. Mr. Watt would
not close the amount of the allocations, "
but the total is known to be approximately
£3.000.000.' New South Wales had
not yet definitely determined whether or
not it will join with the others in the
financial arrangements. Mr. Holman is to
consult his Cabinet further on the subject,
and Mr. Watt will attend a meeting
of the Cabinet within the next fortnight
to assist in the discussion. The New South
Wales requirements for works purposes
are understood to have been cut down to
about £3,500,000, so that if that State joins
with the others in the loan agreement the
Commonwealth will be asked to find a
total of about £0,500,000. Under Mrs
agreement Victoria is to receive £600,000.
Queensland has been liberally treated with
close on £1,350,000. The allocations to
the northern State in regard to loan requirements
for the next calendar year are
heavy, for it has public works in progress
which it is stated could not be suspended
without harmful results. This - being so
the Treasurer did not raise objection to
sell a comparatively large amount. The
Tasmanian Treasurer very substantially
reduced his original application, which was
for £400,000. This included provision for
repatriation purposes, but as the item has
been separated from the loan the alloca-
tion requirements of that State were
brought down to £150,000. South Australia
is to receive £400,000, and although
no official statement was available as to
Western Australia's allocation, it is understood
that she will receive £600,000.
Uniform Taxation Returns.
Mr. Watt gave a general summary of the
proceedings when the Conference rose.
With regard to the question of uniform
taxation returns, he said the Taxation Commissioners
of the Commonwealth and the
Stn les had spent many" hours wrestling
with this problem, and eventually reported
to the Conference that in view of the
differences existing in the Acts of the
Commonwealth and the States in relation
to income tax assessment it was found quite
impossible to frame a form of return that
would simplify the task of the taxpayer in
furnishing returns. The Conference accepted
the view of the experts, and finally
adopted the following resolution-That
with a view to the use of uniform income
tax returns by taxpayers, the Treasurers
agree to recommend to their respective Governments
that a measure be introduced
adopting the principles of the Commissioners'
Draft Bill." This Bill, which was
drawn up by a conference of taxation
officers, aimed at bringing the deductions
allowable into line and making adjustments
to permit of one return being used
by the Commonwealth and the
States. It was further resolved
that Messrs. Holman and Theodore be appointed
a sub-committee to report upon
the proposal to create one collecting
authority for the direct taxes of the Oom- j
monwealth and the States.
Duplication of Services.
The question of the overlapping of the
State and Federal functions was debated,
and the following decision was arrived at: a
-"That the Conference is of opinion that
a commission representing the Commonwealth
and the States should be appointed
to report upon the existing duplication of
the services and activities, with a view
to the elimination of the overlapping of
the functions and expense."
Coal Handling.
The report of the sub-committee on coal
handling, which was adverse to the suggested
formation of a Coal . Pool Board,
was considered in conjunction with a letter
from the Premier of Victoria, protect-
ing against the finding of the subcommit-
tee. Representatives of the other States,
however, exhibited an unwillingness to to
open the question, which, it was considered,
affected Victoria alone. Mr. Watt
therefore intimated that it became the
duty of the Commonwealth Government to
consider and deal with the matter. This
would be done.
Soldiers' Rail Fares.
live question of the carriage of soldiers
inwards and outwards by the State railways
was considered. A temporary settlement
of this matter was effected some
time ago by the Defence Department paying
a reduced fare for soldiers, but the
State Railway Departments considered that
the Tate allowed did not give them back
the working expenses. As the Commonwealth
Government did not desire that the
States should suffer loss in this matter it
was decided that a conference of railway
officers should be allied to consider the
question of determining the proportion of
the ordinary rates that, should be paid by
the Defence Department for the carriage
of soldiers. Their recommendation would
be considered by the Commonwealth Government.
Old Age Pensions.
A long-standing grievance with the State'
has been that when old age pen oners
enter charitable institutions subsidised by
them the Commonwealth Treasury does not
meet the institutions fairly, giving them an
insufficient allowance from the pensioners'
money. The Federal Treasurer made a proposal
to the States that was accepted,
which will increase by 2/6 a week the payments
made by the Treasury to benevolent
I asylums while they are maintaining old age
pensioners. The States accepted this as a
reasonable arrangement. As regards old
age pensioners who are inmates of hospitals,
an arrangement was made that in future
such hospitals shall receive 100 each week
for the maintenance of pensioner inmates
while they were in hospital beyond a period
of 28 days.
The French Mission.
As a French commercial and scientific
mission, headed by General Pan, is expected
to arrive in the Commonwealth next month,
it was agreed that each of the States should
arrange for the work and entertainment of
the members of the session while they were
in the State, and that free railway facilities
should be afforded the visitors by the
Commonwealth and State Railways Departments.
fedeiîaîTfinaîîce.
LIST US EAT. DRINK, AND BE
MERRY."
Sir Richard Butler on his return to
Adelaide on Saturday from the Treasurers'
Conference said the chief result of the
conference was that the Federal and State
Treasurers separated with a greater knowledge
of the financial difficulties which confronted
both the Commonwealth and the
States, and which were more likely to increase
than decrease. Sir Richard Butler
said he believed a great deal of good
would result from this conference. Mr.
Watt put his card on the table, and
placed the difficulties and the responsible
tics of the Commonwealth before the conference
with his usual clearness and force,
and he did not seem very strongly to re-
sent the opinion. He (Sir Richard) expressed
that while promising that there should be no
waste of public money in South Australia,
he felt sure he could show that it would
be wiser to reduce the Commonwealth expenditure
by £50 fillan this State's by £1.
"1 pointed out," added the Treasurer,
"that though the expenditure in South Australia
for the year just closed showed an
increase-!! of £900,000 over that of 1912-13.
interest on the public debt absorbed
over £600,000, railways £200.000, education
£100,000, and gaols and charitable in.
situations £120.000. The increased expenditure
on railways is explained by higher
wages. dearer coal, and opening up the outside
country by about 700 miles of new
series. which will not any interest for some
time.
The Undertaking by the States.
'The liberty Trt'ifuier stinted to the
in-.iv.i'.'.ng difficulty in borrowing overseas
for action' -worker. ami'cvpreiMcil the opinion
that should this war continue much
longer the UtnUtih market Would be
closed <tg.iit>t¡t d5 except for redemption
purposes. As the Commonwealth loans
lower war. purposes would manage to
f 0 millions annually for the duration of the
war, the Australian market and the financial
institutions would 'be fully taxed, and]
in addition to the necessity of restricting
the expenditure out of revenue, it would be
necessary in every State rigidly to curtail
loan expenditure. In South Australia more
than half the loan expenditure last year
( £1,C00,(K)0) was for repatriation purposes,
purchasing land, putting on improvements,
and building homes. The interest!
on this large amount approximately
900,000 taken out of loan) was more than
£50,00 a year, four-fifths of this having to
be raised by taxation, as no interest was
forthcoming. It was unanimously agreed
that each Government should keep their
ordinary expenditure down so that it
should not exceed last year's. That will
mean putting in the pruning knife pretty
severely in dealing with the Estimates. But
in these abnormal times we must adopt
measures in keeping with them. The Co«
vernment have promised not to increase
the taxation beyond the amount collected]
last year, and that promise will
be respected, especially as mud.
greater inroads into the taxpayers' pockets
will be made by the Commonwealth. SS
expenditure, both from loan and revenue,
which would be justified under normal conditions,
must be postponed to a more convenient
season.
"It is fortunate that the quantity and
value of our great primary productions the
last three years have been above the average.
This has helped us, and will help us
to bear the inevitably increasing burdens.
Collecting Income Tax.
"The questions of a uniform. income tax
return and once collector were discussed. The
former could have been agreed to straight
away if the Commonwealth Government
had brought it before their Parliament,
and then the same would have been passed
by the State Parliament. But the Commonwealth
Ministry are a law unto 'them
selves; they are continually encroaching
on State preserves: establishing departments
of their own, instead of using the
State departments with their trained offi-,
cers to do the work. I do not believe one
penny would be saved by the Commonwealth
doing work for the States, but I
am confident substantial savings would be
made if the reverse was agreed to. I have
never seen the slightest evidence up to the
present of the National parliament adopt-
ing a rigidly economical policy. Rather
do they say, 'Let us eat, drink, and be
merry' while the State Parliaments got
about in sackcloth and asbestos >
$