Land Tax Payable On Higher Value

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31586, 25 January 1968, Page 13

Land Tax Payable On Higher Value

More farmers are fiaving to pay land tax because of increased valuations put on their properties by the Valuation Department, according to statements made at a meeting of the executive of North Canterbury Federated Farmers yesterday.

. The meeting discussed the i recently-announced revaluation of Ellesmere County, the president (Mr R. H. Bedford) saying he had made a survey of the effects which he would be discussing in Wellington. He thought many' farmers would find that their valuations were up 100 per cent. “This will affect the whole of North Canterbury over a period,” said Mr W. N. Dunlop. “As other counties are revalued, there are going to be appreciable increases, and it is getting to the stage where it could affect the individual’s ability to produce. “We should do all we can to mitigate the effects on our members, because a lot who have not paid it before are going to have to pay land tax.” Mr Bedford said his request for information on valuations had not brought an encouraging response. It would be hard to make a survey from the Valuation Department figures. “I did, however, find one case where the land tax payable will be up six or seven times on the present figure,” he said. Mr A. L. Mulholland said that a puzzling point was that individual members of Parliament were against land tax, but collectively, they did not do anything about it. Mr Dunlop suggested that the pressure for removal of land tax would have been greater had much of the North Island been affected. There, land values in general wafa

“It seems ridiculous that our organisation is cooperating with the Government to keep farming In a healthy condition, yet we find, in individual cases that there

are steep increases in taxation," he said. The indifference of farmers might stem from annual attempts to get something done about land tax without success, said Mr P. J. Ford. “I think we are getting close to getting something done,” said Mr Bedford. “We would have seen a change over the last two years but for economic conditions. We’ve got to keep pressing.” Mr A. C Richards said that farmers in Waimairi and Paparua counties had been seriously affected by increased valuations. He doubted if Parliament could be “pressured” into action. “With the figures we could produce, we could get land tax off in six months,” Mr Bedford said. “The Ross committee, which examined taxation, recommended the reremoval of land tax, one of the good things it did.” The executive unanimously decided to urge the Dominion executive to keep on trying to get relief.