Finance Bill Appears in the House

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 7025, 8 December 1932, Page 7

Finance Bill Appears in the House

Provisions Cover Wide Range of Topics

Much of Interest to Local Bodies

WELLINGTON, Last Night. Provision for an increased subsid> to the Public Service Superannuation Fund is made in the Finance Bill, introduced in the Houso of Representatives to-day. Provision has already been mado in the Estimates for the payment of £BO,OOO from the Consolidated Fund and legislative effect is given to this in tho Bill. For the purpose of protecting the securities in which its funds are invested,s the Government Superannuation Funds Boards aro empowered to expend money for the purpose of stocking and cultivating mortgaged lands, employing labour on them, making advances to mortgagors, and carrying on farming business. In the event of any contributor to any Government superannuation fund being convicted on a charge of theft, or misappropriation of public moneys or stores, tho Minister of Finance may order that restitution in whole or part must be mado out of the amount standing to the credit of the contributor in tho fund, or that the money shall bo applied toward tho maintenance of the wifo and children of the contributor, or toward the maintenance of any other pOrson for whose benefit a maintenance order under tho Destitute Persons Act could be made. Local Bodies and Relief Works

Per Press Association.

posed by tho Bill. It is not intended to debar societies at present operating in this direction from carrying on as in the past, but a clause in the Bill aims ut restricting any other societies from undertaking this class of business. At the same time a limit is set on the amount of the deposit business that can be done by societies operating at present. This limit has been fixed at the amount of the paid-up capital, or at £200,000, whichever is tho lower.

Provision is also made that building societies carrying on savings bank business must keep 10 per cent, of their deposits in liquid as'sets, as a safeguard on similar lines to that operating in respect of the trustees of savings banks. Another clause provides for statutory authority for savings banks to invest their surplus funds' in tho Post Office Savings Bank. Trustees of savings banks or trading banks previously could invest only with tho trading banks.

Various provisions relating to Government and local body transactions are embodied in the Bill.

Sinking Funds and Loan Redemption

In accordance with tho statement made by tho Prime Minister at Stratford on November 7, legislative effect is given to local authorities to carry forward sinking funds to the redemption of loans. To obviate tho substantial loss of sinking fund moneys in the remission of these moneys to London, it is proposed to authorise local bodies to raise the full amount of the maturing loan by way of a renewal loan and to carry forward the existing sinking fund as the nucleus of a sinking fund for the renewal loan.

Tho Bill gives legislative authority for the creation of a debt by local bodies financed in certain relief work bv the Unemployment Board. At present the Minister of Public Works is empowered to carry out certain works of a reproductive character on or for the benefit of privately-owned property or any other property, if in such cases tho local authority contioliing the district is prepared to assist the Unemployment Board by refunding it a proportionate part of the cost. .of such works, but there is no provision in the existing legislation for tho cost to be spread over a period of years. Provision is now made whereby the amount so expended may be treated as a debt due to tho Crown and repaid over a period of years. Under tho present law, if a local body improves pri-vately-owned land by means of relief work, it may only recover the amount expended out of its own funds for this purpose. Another clause in tho Bill extends local bodies’ powers of recovery so that the money advanced by the Unemployment Board for the same purpose may be included.

Provision was made last year for local bodies to remit tho 10 per cent, penalty on unpaid rates for tho financial year ended March 31. It has since been found that those local bodies whose rating year does not end on March 31 cannot take advantage, of tho legislation, and tho clau'so extends the operation of tho legislation to include ail local authorities irrespective of whether their rating year ends on March 31 or not.

The provision in tho Mortgagors’ and Tenants’ Further Belief Act of this session enabling courts to reduce royalties under coal-mining licenses, is mado binding on tho Crown by another clause.

An extension of power under the same Act, enabling courts to grant relief from the payment of high royalties by the holders of licenses to cut timber or flax, or to extract coal, is contained in another clause, under which relief may bo granted to licensees from the payment of large sums in royalties to persons other than the owmers of the land affected.

By another clause the residents of the Chatham Islands aro excluded from the operations of the Unemployment Act.

Authority for the payment of expense's incurred by Messrs. S. G. Smith and A. E. Ansell, M.P.’s, in their tour of New Zealand investigating the juvenile unemployment problem is given. In a further clause, the payments made to Airs. S. Macdonald, Airs. H. Wilson and Aliss Blanche Carnahan, members of the women’s committeo which investigated female unemployment, are also validated. Deposits With Building Societies Strict limitation's upon the rights of building societies to accept moneys on deposit, thus engaging in business normally done by savings banks, are im-

The rebate of 1 per cent, made under the legislation of last session on the totalisator tax is to be continued for another year, thus making it applicable to tho financial year ending on Alarch 31, 1934. The limit of £550,000 which could be transferred from the Reserve Eund to tho Consolidated Eund is removed. Under another clause, if there is an excess after all commitments relating to tho Hawke’s Bay earthquake have been met, this amount may bo transferred to the Consolidated Fund.