THE PROPERTY TAX.

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 163, 12 July 1890, Page 7

THE PROPERTY TAX.

Few things are so bad as to be utterly devoid of any element of virtue. The, property tax is mischievous so far as it imposes a penalty upon improvements, bub it serves the useful purpose of partially taxing land, and has incidentally led to the compilation of some very valuable returns showing the distribution of wealth in the country. The details of the last assessment are now completed, and were laid before Parliament last week.

The last assessment 6hows that the balance (net property) was almost the same in 1886 as in 1889, tho total iv both years being above £128,000,000. Real property is stated to have decreased from £116,376,659 to £111,137,714, ( equal to £5,233,945, but personal property increased from £82,540,312 to £85,530,210, equal to £2,989,895. In real estate a deduotion of nearly three millions has to be made from the 1886 total, that boing tho amount by which valuations of certain land companies, as stated in their balance-sheets, exceeded the value as assessed by the Department. The tax was not paid on this excess, so that its deduction bringfc about tho result we had already mentioned—the equalisation of the assessment for the two oeriods.

The total value of re.al property is arrived at thus:— & Crown lands .. .. 12,205.703 Nntive lands ' •• 5,790,366 Education, church, municipal, and other reserves 8.933,415 Taxable real estate of persons and companies 46,810,873 .Non-taxable real estate of i ersons and companies, 'including that under mortgages and £500 exeuip--1 Total £i 1137,714 The lareesb deceases have been in Auckland and Otago, in each of which the total shrinkage approaches two and a-half millions, Wellington shows an increase of rather more than two and a-half millions; Hawkes Boy an increase of £677,126. Taking the average for New Zealand, the decline in property during the three years that divide the two assessments was only two per cent., which is very much less than has generally been supposed. The Commissioner also claims that the last assessment (1388) M was not high, and that prices realised at very many sales macro since have proved that the market was above the assessed value." The values of the property within boroughs are thus assessed :-— Auckland i'SS'SS Wellington .. .- - •• 5-207.756 Ohristchurch.. 5'5iH29 Dunedin .. - 4.438,695 : Total .. £17,958.162 Coming now to an examination of personal property, we find that the apparent ncrease in personal property, which includes mortgagee, is . in round numbers three millions, bub the report states that this is not in property that was included in owners' statements and other property upon which the tax was levied, the sums of those for the two periods being practically the same. • . ~ There is a dppredse of £775,051 m live etpsk ; a slight decrease in produce ; an inoreaee of a million sterling in the total value of stock-in-trade, merchandise, machinery and plant, etc. ; a trifling decrease in furniture, household goods, musical instruments, plate, etc.; an increase Of over two millions in cash returned ; a decrease of pearly a million in mortgages returned for assessment; a decrease of nearly £270,000 in debts, and nearly £750,000 in other personal property. The Commissioner suspects wholesale evasions in the returns of personal property. He iiays :—"lt would appear that cash returned, . inpluding cash deposited with banks, etc., is £6,718,000 less than the total deposited in banks. Added to the note circulation, this shows a serious loss of revenue, and it does seem unjust to other taxpayers that those who have their pronorty in cash should s.o largely escape taxation. At present the Department is powerless in the matter, there being no authority given by law to obtain any information from tho banks, and, jn fact, there are grave difiiQplties in the way of eeourjng evidence even when proceedings have been taken against defaulters, it being necessary to gab an order of a Judge of thj Supreme Court to inspect the defaulter's account, and to enable the bank officers to. give evidence. The knowledge that it is almost impossible to detect fraud has the effect of tempting many people to omi6.from_ their Statements njpney deposited with the banks companies. This short return of cash is a grave scandal." ,■.•.!_:„ The report oonpaips βomp interesting information with regard tp the persons who pay the tax. From this jb appears that 3,028 persops pay on JP| S than £100 over exemption, or less th a n , Bs c /* d pc % year • 2,870 between 8s 4d and 16s Bd, and 2,314 between lfcf 8d and £15*. Those who pay less than £210* per year number 13,035, and 3,463 pay between £2 10s and £4 3s 4d yearly; pay between £4 «; fld wf £8 6s Bd:' 4,606 pay between £8 6s Sd and £41 13s 4d;" 643 pay between £41 13s 4d and £83 65.3d ; leaving 516 who pay above the larger amount. The exemptions actually allowed were #7 791 the tax on which equals 18s 4d The total ne;t value pf the property holonsine to non-taxpayers covered by ex«mnMons was £9,346,754, which, ,ab one ZnyCitrTe Pound, equals £38,953 2s 10d. If th J exemptions were abolished the increased tax,on the existing assessment would be £96.851. - Banks, companies,, etc., numbering 406, ,pay £107,905; graziers, sheep farmers,

dairymen, etc., numbering 8,611, pay £81,543; absentees, numbering 1,150, pay £25,976; widows, spinsters, and wives, numbering 3,760, pay £22,273 ; and other trust estates, and estates of deceased persons, numbering 1,492, pay £32,286. The report shows a decrease of 1,499 in the number of taxpayers, a decline which tho Commissioner is by no means satisfied iij wholly due to legitimate causes. While the report admits that a really large number of persons who wore worth more than £500 have left the colony, it expresses the opinion that the deficiency is increased owing to certain people defrauding the Government, and saya that if the present secrecy as to assossment and taxes paid were abolished an, important enhanoemenb in the value of personal property would be observed in the next returns by the addition oE a considerable number of taxpayers. The report adds that in no year was the tax so punctually paid as in 1889-90, and there have been fewor complaints than in any other year. The report contains much valuable information on the subject of land-holding in New Zealand, which we shall review on an other occasion.