The Property Tax.

Auckland Star, Volume XI, Issue 3192, 9 June 1880, Page 2

The Property Tax.

PUBLIC MEETING AT NEWMARKET.

A PUBLIC meeting of residents in the Newmarket and circumjacent district", convened for the purpose of considering the Property Tax, was held last night in the Newmarket Hal!.

There was a large attendance. Mr Morgan was voted to the chair. Upou the proposition of Mr Jenkins lie opened the meeting by reading the advertised notice, and then invited some ouo to initiate the discussion.

After a short period of incertitude, Mr Clayton mounted the platform and moved the h'rst resolution, viz.:—" Tliat id the opinion of this meeting, the Properly Tax, in its present form ,is inquisitorial iv its nature and unjust in its operation, anil should be repealed. He w*s not goiug to say much about t'w tax. It must, he thought, be obvious to nil his hearers that the returns which they wcro required to lill up weie so inquisitive as to raise at onco a strou'j; feeling of repugnance towards the tax. If taxation were necessary it should be levied in some lesa obnoxious and more honourable form.

Mr J. M. Launox had great pleasure iv seconding the proposition for ho believed it to be an honest and straightforward statement. A3 regarded the injustice of the impost under notice, he would instance the case of VVaikato farmers who although iv tlu possession of large farms were yet, through disease and other causes, carrying on operations at au inevitable loss. Yet th,ese men

would ba rendered.amenable to this tax to a very large amount" He would ask them to takotha ca.o ofa farm or having a faim worth ,say Jt's,ooo. It might be that the farm whs encumbered. The farmer would have to pay £S0 for iutareat, then £32 for this tax, aud at the end of the year it might be that he would make a loss instead of a profit. Opposed to this case was that of those Civil Servants who drew perhaps a salary of £60) or £1,000, aud whose limited property over and above this money yielded but a small margin upon which to tax. 'lhen a^aiu its inquisitivencss was of a most offensive character, for it required them to stite to a curious Government all their little articles of jewellery and plate, all their little libraries of books, and all the little knick-knacks which adorned a home. It had a tendency, too, to ruiu struggling men in embarassed circumstances, and he knew that if it had been brought into operation at a particular period of the mining fever, when he was greatly to the bad, it would have ruined him. Thus he might now be a poor man instead of being, as he was, better oil' than at any other period of his life. lie had very great pleasure indeed in sccondiug the resolution. No one evincing a disposition to speak, the motion was put to the meeting." About half of those present voted for it, but only one person agaiast it It wa» the rel'orc declared carried.

Mr McColl then addres.ed the m*eliug. He began by referring to the borrowing policy of paat years as the cause of such burthens m weir: now being thrown upon the country. Taxation was imperatively uecc3sary, he knew, aud they could not object to it. They should agree to thi.it, -though, of course, it was open for thorn to decide in what form the taxation should b; imposed. The Property Tax was not a tax upon the working man, as Mr Lennox ha 1 sought to make the audience believe. (Applause.) The limit of taxable property was £500, and lie thought that gentleman who owned property above that value were well able to pay a levy of one penny in the £. Still, he agreed with the two speakers who had preceded him iv thinking that the mode of levyiug the tax was somewhat inquisitorial, and iv believing that that feature of it should certainly be improved. Iv further allusion to the liuancial state of the colony the speaker advocated the appropriation of the Sinking Fuud for the payment of interest on the loans. He stated hi.s opiuiou that party politics had now degenerated into a mere squabble for power, and

after expresjing his admiration of the present educational system he concluded by avowing his firm belief that New Zealand would yet become a strong ami a powerful nation.

Mr Jenkins, who was received with applause, said that he had been iv bopea ' that Mr McColl would propose a resolution with the view or supporting the Government iv their prcsant difficulties, for it must be apparent to all that great dependence was place.l by tho rulers of tho country upon tiic opinion of the Noivmarkot people. (Laughter). The opinion of Newmarket would induce the Government in all probability to modify its proposals, for the world revolved around their favoured district. (Renewed laughter). The speaker, after stating his belief in a Property Tax, went on to contend that .stock-in-trade should not bo taxed, ai in that way the poor man was reached and iv the most oppiessive way. His own drapery stjck for instance, which bad already borne taxation at the Customs to the extent of 15 or 20 per cent, was to be taxed agaiu and of course they could easily foresee tho result. He would not bear any further import upon his goods, and therefore his customers would have to pay. In that way the poor man would 03 very effectively reached. He was in favour of a levy upon real property, but he did not like the proont tux, inasmuch as ho was not to be deceived by tho misleading cry that wealth only was attested by it. He was not opposed to direct taxation, but on the contrary he would heartily support it. He had a resolution to propose and it was this : —" That this meeting considers that an lucome and Land Tax would fall more justly upon the people of this colony, the limit of taxable iucomes to be fixed at £200." An impost of this sort would prove most fair and equitable, because it would reach that class which at present enjoyed a most delightfnl immunity from taxation. Under it the Governor himself, ministers, aud well paid civil servants, would all be obliged t> contribute their quota to tho revenues or the country. As it was, the poor man bore the full weigh t of the taxation himself.

Mr Js;ill seconded the resolution

MrN cylonthought that those lands which had benefited greatly in value by the construction of railways through or adjacent to them should pay a special tax to the Government in return for the value which had been imparted to then. He also dcuonnccd as unfair the taking over by the Government, of unprofitable district" railways in the South, and thus making private liabilities a public debt. The spesker was iv favour of a land tax, but he was opposed to the extension of the lucome Tax to the salaries of struggling men with large families dependant upon them—underpaid clerks, subordinate officials, etc. Mr McColl expressed himself as opposed to the imposition of a special tax upon what had been termed t; the unearned increment "of land. He thought that in tho very large majority of instances this uuearned increment was well merited, for the labour and toil expended in the arduous and early days of the colony establithed a fair claim to it. Besides he could not see that there were many cases wherein land had been bonaiitsd without an outlay upon the part of the owner—certainly none in Newmarket. A great cry had been raised ajainst the capitalists, but ho failed to sec either that there were many of such a class iv the colonies. The expenditure of money on such works, for instance, as the Piako Swamp benefited the whole people, aud be could really perceive no iujustice or injury in it. Despite all statements to the contrary, the people wen; groaning under no ronu of oppression. The lines, iudesd, had fallen to them in pleasant places. Mr Jenkins combatted the statement of the last speaker that very little land had been benalited by unearned increment. In doing so he gave several local instances shewing large increases in tho value of landed property through public works. He pointed out, also, the justice of the special tax suggested by Mr JXeylon by indicating the unfairness of settlers in remote country districts bdng obliged to pay as much as their fellow colonists in more favoured aud accessible localities.

Mr Eaam spoke in favour of an Income Tax. and in doing so, expressed the opinion that the limit of exemption should he reduced to salaries of £150 per anaum. The resolution was theu put and carried, only half the audience, however, voting. Mr Clayton proposed that the resolutions should b? telegraphed to Wellington that night, but no one appsared inclined to second the proposition, and consequently it lapsed.