CO129-482 - Public Offices - 1923 — Page 632

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14.

further

46. In the year B.E. 2462 (1919-20) there incrnac of revenue Aue to the rising of the license flus on retail shops. as its rolized that the large crofit

the dross left in the pip.s hich the rutilcrs mede on ves out of proportion to the ceritel invested by them in the business.

47. The total opium revonuc t prosent obtrinud by the Government over 20 million. tiels cr annum, end As this forms large percentage of the gerugsto rovinuo of the country, it is important to consider how the regis-

111 affect it. tration of smokers

48, From the gradually increasing control now exercised over ret flors ar the general kno”lalf of the opium tredo thereby rendered cossible, it is know that a large cart of the crusent selos is unde to persons not really addict- ed to the drug, and it is believed that those ill neither enter ocium shops to smoko, nor apply for registration s hone smokers, As soon as registration is put into foruc, the sale of opium to this class rill probably stop, caus- ing en immediate drop to the extent of 25% to 30% of the total sa ks, This ill moan & reduction of 25% of tho revenue from opium, remosenting a sum of at least 5 mil- lion ticals,

49.

Tho Go cromont does not regard with any ADTU- honsion the gradual reduction of revenus doc to the dosth, &c. of registered smokers, looking is it docs, to incrense from other sources of revenue to replace that lost under opium. But a sudden drop of 5 million ticals in one voer is quite another matter and it would be a continued onc The country Thich could only he not by extra taxation, hes, however, suffered a severe sct-back financially from the disastrous crop failure of 1919, which has severely strained the resourccs of the state, and from which it will

This fret precludes the cos- take several years to recover.

et present, sibility of the increrse in ordinery taxation since a very large majority of the populetion is of tho agricultural cless Thor rundy contributo a considerable

In R.F. 2461 percentage of the revenue from taxation. (1916-19), the actual revenue from L-nd (almost entirely -gricultur:1). Crpitation tax. end Export duties. all fall- ing Tergoly on the pricultural cless, realized a tot:l of

bout 20 million ticals.

50. It ould thus seem that ny fresh taxetion to bo reigod should boar on the hole coculation and, if possible, more hurvily on the non-griculturists who pro et crusent