DROUGHT IN AUSTRALIA
There seems recently to have been some relief from the drought conditions which have prevailed over a large part of the Australian pastoral area. At Monday's meeting of the Union Bank of Australia the chairman, Sir John Davidson, read a cable from the bank's general manager which reported bountiful rains in several areas and a consequently improved outlook in parts of Queensland and New South Wales. The improvement was obviously needed urgently for, as Sir John showed, the dry season had contributed to loss of stock, to a deterioration in the condition of the livestock and the recent disastrous bush fires. He was able to report, however, that the bank's interests were not involved in those fires.
Sir John also held out some hope of a reduction in the burden of taxation. Heavy taxes, he said, had in the past year absorbed virtually the whole of the profit which the bank earned in New Zealand. He also reported an increase of 15 per cent. in the Federal income-tax rates charged in Australia, and calculated that for the current year the total amount of taxation paid by the bank will be £25o,000, which is greater than the net dividend which it is distributing.
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