Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 18, 1967, Winnipeg, Manitoba It group figures the ways to get the business in members of Winnipeg downtown business association discuss the ways they believe the Rax Structure could be by John Heath Winnipeg has at least one organization vitally concerned with the welfare of the downtown in the economic Well being of its members depend on the Prosperity and growth of that the organization the downtown business association of Winnipeg con siders itself representative of a majority of All firms and businesses doing business in downtown Winnipeg and our membership includes Trust insurance com property of Akk Park february 1967 business finance consumer credit a problem that gnaws at Canadas finance firms by ego Frech Canadas finance companies Are More worried than they care to admit Oxer the Senate commons committee report on consumer credit tabled in the commons although no comment is the usual reply from finance company executives when there asked for their reactions to the their worries show and the few who will comment confirm the there not too worried about the interest rate disclosure Law recommendation they were expecting its already Law in Nova and other pro Vinces have been exploring the it seemed Only natural that a National committee investigating the subject would reach a similar but they Are worried when senator David chairman of the starts talking about exorbitant interest rates and a Law to establish a ceiling on How much interest can be the finance company spokesmen admit their inter est is although not too and hardly Ever in reduce the risk they they need the High interest rate in order to attract capital and in order to eliminate the risk in lending to the Type of Borrower who Likely to skip out without paying his Bill or leaving a forwarding some say that one Way to get along on less should that be is to reduce the this could be done by refusing Loans to persons who considered a risk and by asking for larger Down payments on items such television both alternatives tend to work away from what senator Croll envisions More credit for poor families who Are struggling to get established but have Only a Low but then senator Croll also said the committees spokesmen say High interest rates needed to of frack capital and eliminate risks taken on borrowers report was designed to get the poor people out of the hands the moneylenders and into the hands of lenders under government companies like general motors acceptance Cor which finances cars built by general came under heavy fire in the committees report not talking but the local Mac manager int saying and his head office in from which he said any comment had to is saying even weve written for a copy of the Complete said a High ranking official of the who was clearly but admit its no the committee if simple would just about put Mac and companies like it out of the business there it recommends anti combines legislation to regulate distributors and particularly of in operation of their own sales financing department stores operating their own revolving or opened charge account plans were also blasted by the but the department stores Arent As worried As the finance they have a Way of fighting Back they can raise prices if there forced to charge lower interest one Winnipeg department store credit manager put it quite bluntly if the maximum interest rates Are we would just have to subsidize our credit the Cash customer is the one who would lose because the Only Way we can do this is to raise any subsidy like that has to be figured As part of the operational the committee seemed to feel Many customers were being taken in by department stores because they have no idea of what the annual interest rate will be yet Are encouraged to buy on the stores say cutting Back credit would be no because that would reduce volume and would also result in higher Bankers Are the least worried of the financial Trio which would be affected if the report were simple the report urges that federally guaranteed Loans at a Low interest should be made to families earning less than a Aid sought who say Small Loans Are costing them Money at their present 12 per cent interest dont feel the idea will work unless the government is willing to pay out a lot of Money to make Good the Loans of people who cant pay them but there quite willing to go along with the idea As Long As the Loans Are the committee Felt the interest rate on the which would have a ceiling of should be about 6i to seven one thing is sure a lot of copies of the report will be and there May be a few More expressive comments when the full implications and the Fine print Are read and strike lock those concerned about ownership of Canadian Industry tend to propose solutions designed 1 to restrict or penalize such 2 to encourage or Force foreign owners to sell shares to Cana and 3 to allocate Public funds to reinforce the Supply of Money for equity those proposals Are essentially Nega without accepting or rejecting the thesis that american ownership is indeed a we would like to suggest an instead of thinking Small obtain ing minority interests in Canadian subsidiaries they should be thinking big and going for controlling interests in some Large International Corpora Toronto daily lost Chance manufacturers and retailers of mens shoes could save up to million annually if the Industry would adopt simplified sizing system compatible with this finding is the major result of a oneyear study by the Battelle memorial the study evaluated five last grading systems and found two of them were these if would reduce present size widths by 33 per utilize half the lasts now in Stock and permit manufacturers and retailers to manage their inventories More efficiently and possibly increase the number of Washington Export projects t a British businessman has sent advertising leaflets to France in a balloon piloted by one of his the Leaf lets were in seven languages and enclosed in Light airmail envelopes for Post ing to several in of fac mess news an business the same Man also toured Sweden in a truck converted into a he covered showing his com pants computer equipment and sold two London launching themselves As Export salesmen ship tried to buy a turn it into an exhibition of British goods and visit 30 world the idea was scuppered by Lack of the lefts Leer booms tartan brewing of Prince has started a construction program to double output at its Plant to barrels president Ben Ginger said one of the reasons was the Success of the company new line of canned last tartan became the first Western Canadian brewery to canned the president says the pro duct now holds 80 per cent of the tartan cans of Beer hold the same As bottles but a dozen full cans weigh Only Lovi pounds compared with 16 pounds for the cans have a snap open the Vancouver super spending a minute of commercial time on the Bob Hope show costs the advertiser a minute on Bonanza costs among regular the most expensive time is on the Lucy h costs a one on the red Skelton show costs one on the de Sullivan hour one on the Beverly Hillbillies the higher the Neilson rating the higher the at the other end of the a minute on the Green Hornet or Laredo costs on the daytime a minute on As the world turns costs and on dark associated Preiti new credit lined up the inter american development Bank announced a historic landmark in its operations in latin America total Loans exceeding the Bank announced five new including three for to Argen most of which will go to a Gigantic redevelopment and colonization project in the North Argentine province of Santiago Del the other credits were for Mil lion to help Colombia mechanize farm the Washington on the Fence it is evident 1966 has been a Good economic year for most reports show a profit increase and some show record opinions on How 1967 will turn out Are some economists believe the uptrend of the past six years will carry on through others feel momentum is not being maintained and some such As construction and will show the Sharp decline in the Stock markets last year May have been a correction of preceding on the other it might have carried a message that the Economy would slow the Montreal g break ahead j car dealers costs on Loans to carry 1 inventories showed signs of easing As the s pattern of receding interest rates began to spread to consumer credit Foj several leading Banks and finance com g panics posted reductions in these the move was led by Ford motor credit which Cut rate from 6u per cent to there has been no s comment from general motors accept Ance which has been quoting a 6h i per cent g the Wall Street j new York professional wholesalers and to stimulate the growth of the downtown area the group has recommended improved traffic facilities into this area from the that increased parking facilities be made available As building development a Central Library to serve As a Magnet for and a general governmental policy of keeping the area another proposal is for More High Rise apartments in the area to provide a Large consumer Market close at in the fiscal the association is opposed to All classified graduated local business not s u the association has come out against the decision of the provincial government to impose a five per cent sales tax beginning june mine Mills in its 1966 annual the association stated that the sales tax will amount to nine Mills for Homes and farms and 33 Mills on commercial property including the report in effect the general Levy will afford substantiate Relief to Home and farm owners Over and above the maximum school tax rebate authorized an paid for by the Provin Cial government during 1965 and 1966 but which is being discontinued in All single school districts effective Hias regards commercial it has been suggested that the Impact of these levies will increase school taxes in Over and above what they would have paid this year on the basis of a Flat Levy on All property b y approximately 20 per this represents a further surcharge against business property in addition to the heavy business taxes now More to say the association had plenty More to say about taxes in its 1963 submission to the Manitoba Royal commission on local government and in that the croup declared municipal property assessment is not a sound base for an income in Urban the relative values of real prop erty holdings commercial Industrial or residential give Only a very rough if indeed they give any indication at of the relative incomes of their and applying adjust ments percentages will not convert the real prop erty assessment into a sound base for an ability or income there May be less Dis parity in Rural agricultural areas where the productive capacity of farm lands should be reflected in the municipal but under present Day con where farming becomes More and More a in the condition of the the tilth and to say nothing of other business and financial interests or investments the farm owner May make the real property assessment a most unreliable guide to the relative incomes of tax objects the report con there cannot be any of costs on the basis of municipal real property assessment be tween one municipality and the association also objects to assessing the taxes for paying for local improvements on the basis of Road the association does support the View that municipalities should be financially responsible for and administer services Bene fiting real property and the province for service to but it is unhappy about paying for the costs of education through local real property the association claims this places an unfair Burden on the backs of the local merchants a Burden which Many find too heavy to switching to another tax the business tax which applies in the City of Winnipeg and is based on the rental value of the i premises the i association believes there i is reason to question whether there should be a i business tax at i As the rental value in i creases so does the business j tax on an increased percen i Tage j the association sums up i its position concerning business taxes very clearly in its declaration before the Royal we Are u unalterably opposed to any form of classified or or classified and graduated business tax being applied and would strongly recommend that a taxes of this including the present Winnipeg business be but the association is willing to it would agree to a tax determined by applying a fixed percentage to the rental value of business thus if there must be a business the association prefers it to be a net profit tax levied by the provincial proposes As for recommendations concerning possible tax the association proposes that local school levies be reduced to a minimum with total local school costs divided Between the province and the school District on a fixed percen Tage division this should leave the local real property tax mainly for the use of the municipality to finance local administration and to finance a reduction in the local school the provincial government could impose an income tax on corporations and these Accord ing to the would eliminate All but Small part of local school costs to be raised by the local real property leaving that tax mainly for municipal use and purposes and at the same time enable business and Industry to pay their tax on a net profit instead of by local business which should be wheat deals 6ok by Sheldon Bowles the cultural revolution still rocking red China has not affected the shipments of can Adian Accord ing to the Canadian wheat chief commissioner of the wheat Board in an interview that although things were running smooth to i never like to make Canada has an agreement to Supply red China with bushels of wheat during the current crop year running from 1966 to july As part of a three year contract signed last year under which a minimum of bushels will be director of the statistics division of the Board of Grain commissioners said in an interview that As of 8 Canada had e x p o r t e d bushels of Grain this this compared with a total Grain Export of bushels As of 8 last said of the total bushels exported this year bushels Are wheat at 8 last year bushels of wheat had been exported said exports up from West coast ports wheat exports Are up by More than bushels Over last year As of said this years West coast wheat Export total is bushels he the total of All Grams exported from West coast ports is also up to bushels As of 8 compared to bushels at that Date a year the Bushel boost on the West coast meant that All other ports were off said resulting in a total drop of bushels from the 8 Date last from the All grains chalked up a total shipment of bushels during the 1966 shipping he and during the 196667 crop year beginning 1 to the close of shipping All were moved out of Lakehead last year bushels moved out in the same said exports from Manitoba was Down to bushels in All for the 1966 Short of the Bushel record set in ;