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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1974-05-30, Page 12SYMEMENREZI....,,'A31',221,i242E;07i4EZIEWntalerar.' ;4.:44!,:iina401:4 petee4 pare. toot 2eeeeff'd P444 Lots of debate on land speculation fox tough beauty Stelco Siding is made from Ultra-Stelcolour prefinished steel. It's the strongest metal siding you can buy. desists fading and weathering like no other metal siding, That's why Steico can provide the best, most meaningful guarantee on the siding market. Love a beautiful house? Hate painting? Get a free estimate! Today! Discount Dave's Home Centres (A division of Conklin Lumber Company Limited) 235-1422 238-2374 4 1 EXETER GRAND BEND stele° the only siding made from exeler frozen foods GROCERIES • FRESH PRODUCE FRESH E. CURtD MEATS Call 135-0400 Come Join Us For Savings DURING OUR 16TH Flowers for ALL Occasions . Country Rowers Main St. Exeter PHONE 235-2350 '1.89 ,e.'1.29 200. 434 5PACK 79t 18oz 794 43t This Thurs., Fri.& Sat. Sunkist size 138 ORANGES DOZEN 59t COOKING ONIONS 2 BAG 29‘ 1)7 NEW POTATOES 10 BAG $1099 ;Si CELERY STALKS 354 .4s..1 12 oz, tins 2/791 $1.79 (Prep kick), 64 oz. 79t Cavalier POP 24 ca: '2.69 Carnival 12 oz. WHOLE KERNEL CORN 2/451 Regular 69a Page .... ............ .... .. ... .. .. . By JACK R10DELL M.P.P. The Land Speculation Tax Act has undergone 28 hours of debate in the legislature and practically half the sections of the bill haye yet to be considered. • The bill has probably been one of the most inept bills that has been introduced into the House and although the Liberal party of Ontario supports the principal of taxing persons who make ex- tremely profitable gains at the expense of public welfare, the members disagree on many of the details of the bill and have proposed amendments in the hopes of improving it. Opposition members have argued that there should be an exemption for the small builders, At the present time, there is nothing in the statute that will allow small builders to continue. They are effectively prohibited by the bill's provisions, four or five lots on which to erect houses, because no developer will sell to the small builder unless the builder pays the 50 percent speculation tax, Vern Singer, Liberal for Downsview, argued for an exemption from this tax. He said that once a subdivision is registered, if a developer takes a piece of raw land and turns it into a subdivision making building lots available, then he should be able to sell those lots to an in- dividual builder without the 50 percent speculation tax, Margaret Campbell, Liberal for St. George, tried to instill up- on the Minister that there should be an exemption from the tax for Senior Citizens in Senior Citizens' accommodation who have rented their home but for some reason beyond their control have to sell their homes during their residency in the senior citizen accommodation. Other Opposition members tried to point out to the Minister that the Land Speculation Tax also does not allow for a widow whose husband died and left her a small estate which she turned into a duplex in order to get a small income from the rent. If this woman decides that thereigRio'rritich work and worry involved for her and she wants to liquidate her assets, she is faced with the speculation tax. In the estimation of the Liberal Party this woman is not a speculator but is benefiting from the work done by herself and her husband .and trying to protect herself from inflation. Other arguments are that enforcement provisions of the Act, the limitation period and search or seizure provisions must be changed. The Act allows the Minister's officials to go into somebody's office to gather in- formation and to see documents nd records, Theoretically, at least, if there is reasonable ground to believe that an offence has taken place under this Act, as is done in relation to income tax and cer- tain other taxing statutes, they can seize documents and papers for the purposes of this act. The provisions of this act also allow the Ministerial officials to take the seized documents to any other department of the provincial government, con- cerned with taxing matters. As if that were not enough, the statute also provides that the same in- formation, the same documents and the same records can be turned over to any other department and the same records can be turned over to any other department of the federal government which is concerned with taxing matters. The Act also permits these same documents to be turned over to any department of any other provincial government with whom Ontario has a reciprocal agreement, Opposition members wonder just what kind Of legislation it is which allows the government to come in and in- vestigate a particular offence, which it must have reasonable grounds to presume is taking place, and then give this in- formation to all sorts of other agencies in other governments. It really boils down to a gestapo arrangement which the minister is setting up. The limitation period is six years and in the minds of the official Opposition this is too long. Opposition members feel that if the Ministry is doing its job, it should be , able to determine whether or not there has been an offence under this Act in a much shorter period than Six years. Another provision of the bill which Opposition members disagree with is that which subjects a fennel' to the tax unless he sells his farm to members of his family. Murray Gaunt, Liberal for Huron-Bruce proposed an amendment which would allow a farmer to sell his farm to anyone, free of the tax if hehas farmed itfor a period of ten or more years. Official plans and land zoning would dictate whether this farm was to remain in agricultural production. But the argument is, farmers should not be penalized for being the victim of city en- croachment upon their land. Opposition members also argue that there should be an exemption from the Land Speculation Tax for people who • have been sent out of the country by their employers in order to carry on their business. If they have rented their home and upon returning decide to sell it then they should not be subjected to the speculation tax, Jim Breithaupt, Liberal member for Kitchener made several points, one of which, was that the speculation tax should have a time element built into it, for example a depreciating rate of 5 percent per year, This rate should also be available to the person who owns a commercial building, a sixplex or an extra home which he or she has pur- chased and maintained and has hoped to use as a matter of saving. Mr. Breithaupt also argued that the various areas of parcels of land that should be exempt, are those for which the townships have been giving the minimum severance, In other words if the smallest parcel of land that one could have severed and upon which one could build a home, is 25 or 28 acres, then that should form the base upon which the tax is levied. Perhaps the greatest un- certainty in the bill as it is written at the present time, is whether the sepculation tax is deductible as a business tax from the federal income or corporation tax, The minister of revenue says, "as far as we know the federal govern- ment will allow this 50 -percent tax to be deducted as a cost of doing business," Vern Singer, Liberal for Downsview, hastened to reply that "as far as we know is a very, very interesting phrase, because I can add to that my comment that as far as I know, the federal government is going to make no such allowance." Where speculators become involved, taxes could run as high as 81 percent in the case of a private individual or 86 percent in the case of a corporation, on the minister's speculation that this 50 Brownies meet backwards By MRS. IRVIN RADER DASHWOOD Brown Owl opened the Brownie meeting by sprinkling fairy dust on the Brownies and turning everything around backwards. They first closed the meeting with taps, then played a relay game of putting on and taking off clothes backwards. Jennifer Gowanlock was fairy queen. A sing song followed and craft time was held when back- ward invitations were made for the Brownie Revel to be held in Exeter's Riverside Park from 2 p,m. to 6:30 p.m., Saturday June 1. Four area Brownie Packs will be involved, Exeter, Kirkton, Huron Park and Dashwood. The Brownies sang their six songs and left the Brownie ring as Brown Owl sprinkled each with fairy dust. e • Personals Mrs, Martha Miller has returned home after spending two weeks with Mr. .& Mrs. Siegfried Miller and family Port Dover. Mr. & Mrs. Mike Burke and Susan, Brampton, spent the weekend with Milt Haugh. Mr. & Mrs. Irvin Rader spent Sunday at Kitchener with Mr. & Mrs. Ivan Taylor and family, Other guests were Mr. & Mrs. Garnet Weiberg, Sandra and Larry. Garnet Willert underwent surgery at Victoria Hospital, London Monday, Mr. Si Mrs. Ernest Hutchinson, Russels Point, Ohio spent a few days with Mrs. Henry Eagleson. percent tax was going to be allowed as a cost of doing business, If it is not allowed as a cost of doing business and it is added on, then the speculator is taxed on the full amount of that profit which amounts to 112 percent. This then becomes a confiscatory tax. As indicated at the beginning of this column, the land speculation tax bill is so inept that Mr. Singer, Liberal for Downsview, on behalf of his colleagues, felt that there was no other recourse than to make a reasoned amendment which appears on the notice paper and which reads as follows: that all the words in the motion for third reading of bill 25 after the word "that" be struck out and the following substituted therefore:- "The bill be not now read the third time but be referred tb the standing ad- ministration of justice committee so that this committee may determine whether or not the tax imposed by this bill is, in fact, deductible as a business expense under the federal taxing statutes." One of the members of the Official Opposition who has been in the house for approximately 20 years, commented that he cannot recall when any statute per- taining to such an important matter underwent such long debate. The original bill con- tained something like 28 pages and the Minister since its in- troduction has brought in ap- proximately 22 pages of amend- ments. The Ontario Medical Association complained this week ' that proposed legislation would force doctors to live under a "lingering threat" or a malpractice suit for years, when they appear before the standing committee of the legislature on social development, studying the Health Disciplines Act. The present law in Ontario allows the patient one year in which to sue a doctor for negligence. Bill 22, the Health Disciplines Act, 1974 not only extends this for two yeafs from the time the doctors services to the patient end, but also allows further indefinite extension by the courts. Doctors have objected strenuously to the discretionary powers given to the courts to extend the limitation period. This' would have the effect of forcing members of the health disciplines to labour under the lingering threat of suit by disgruntled patients even many years after they have had professional contact with them. The Ontario government has paid $22 million for about 11,000 acres of land, optioned by a consortium of developers as the site for a city of 150,000 to serve the Nanticoke Industrial Development on Lake Erie about 30 miles south of Hamilton. Mr. White, Ontario's treasurer said it was cheaper to buy up the options the group held than to acquire land at another site recommended last year by a government report. The developers will not make any money to speak of on the assembly of land. The developers will make some money in selling 298 acres, the only portion of the site they own outright, to the A number of people from Dash- wood attended the Becker, Newton wedding at London and the reception at Dashwood Community Centre. Relatives from Dashwood attended the Ducharme-Mason wedding at Grand Bend and the reception at Zurich community centre. Both weddings took place Saturday May 25th. government at $1944 an acre. This land was purchased for something over $800 an acre so the profit on this land is almost $341 an acre. The Ontario government has decided to assist victims of the recent flood in the Cambridge, Brantford area by matching dollar for dollar any money that is raised locally. A local com- mittee will be set up to raise money to distribute assistanceto those hardest hit by the flood. I am pleased to conclude this column by reporting that the Cabinet has formally approved the purchase of 2.1 acres of land on Sanders Street in the town of xeter, Ontario for the development of Senior Citizen housing by the Ontario Housing Corporation. The CoiToration has com- missioned the architectural firm of Hagerty and Buist, of London, Ontario, to prepare drawings on which a modified tender call will be issued. The design of the project will be submitted to the local council for its approval prior to the call for tenders, MEAT BUYS FROM SCHNEIDER'S Vacuum l's WIENERS 1 LB. 39t 2 LBS. $1.69 4 Varieties Cold Meat . Loaves lb. 89t Chicken Legi lb. 87t FROM MAPLE LEAF 4- Vacuum Bacon lb. 99‘ Dinner Hams lb. $1.39 4. Sandwich Size Cooked Ham lb. $1.53 * Vacuum l's Wieners. lb. 79t OUR OWN ' Hickory Smoked Bacon lb. 93' Pork and Beef Sausage 87t FRONT QUARTERS OF BEEF cut, Wrapped & Quick 'Frozen L. Times-409;41`ef May 30' 1974 • ZET.WC:l.'nr4 VOLUNTEER HELP — Mrs. trig Heywood was one of the three area volunteers who helped at the Red Cross Blood Donor Clink, held in the Legion Hall, Monday night. Here she checks on one of the donors, Margaret Hem of Woodhoni. The other two volunteers were Mary tee, Dashwoad and Mrs. d Hoorn, Huron Park. 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