BANK OF AUSTRALASIA
Chairmen of many banks operating in New Zealand have protested against the method of assessing bank income-tax there. At the meeting of the Bank of Australasia last week, Mr. D. F. Anderson explained that the system, which did not originate with the present New Zealand administration, is to be re-examined by the Government, and that he had hopes of relief. He disclosed, however, that the bank expects this year to have to pay more than 2os. in the on the profit earned in New Zealand and, unless there is a change in the law, they may well have to pay more than in the year 1937-8 in respect of some year in which they make an actual trading loss.
It is fortunate that Mr. Anderson can give a more pleasing account of other aspects of the bank's business. In Australia they have been able to employ larger sums in loans to customers, and the disastrous drought has been ended by good rains over most of the country. But he thought it wise to give a warning that so long as Australia's potential cus- tomers for pastoral products were spending a high proportion of their purchasing power on warlike raw materials, Australia and New Zealand will have to depend for increased sales very largely on the United Kingdom market, and that the possible extent of their development and prosperity is therefore not yet within their grasp.
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