THE GOVERNMENT AND LAND VALUES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 448, 5 March 1909, Page 6

THE GOVERNMENT AND LAND VALUES.

An announcement that may turn out to be of much importance was made by the Prime Minister in Invercargill yestorday. There has been much discussion in the southern town lately upon the fact that tho recent valuations made under last year's Act increased tho unimproved value of properties in tho borough by £284,524, or 52 per cent. Nine lots which were sold a few days ago in tho town realised £3605, or £1500 less than the Government valuation, and it is further stated that there aro numerous instances in which properties have been offered for sale at prices considerably below the values placed upon them for taxation purposes by the Government's officials. The Prime Minister has referred tho matter to the valuer for explanation, but in the meantime he has intimated his intontion to go into the whole question of valuations throughout the country with a view to cffccting an improvement. It is assuredly high timo that the Government called a halt in what can only be described as its settled policy of creating an artificial boom in land values. There is no part of tho country which has not witnessed a steady and continuous rise in prices, and this despite the fact that tho productive value of tho land has not increased, tho prices of staple products, in fact, have even fallen. On July 1 of last year we collected tho acts of policy and administration which, during the Into Mr. Seddon's tenure of office, assisted to inflate unduly tho price of land. By keeping the Native lands loeked up, by delaying the work of the Assets Realisation Board, by acquiring great areas of land for settlement, by paying preposterous prices for Buburlmn land, and. by dircct incitements to the. valuors to ;

send values upwards, the Government was enabled to creato a boom in prices which, however pleasing to a Treasurer of extravagant tastes, has caused very serious trouble, not only to tho holders of country lands, but also to tho people who pay rent in tho cities.

Tho figures relating to the progress of the "boom" are astonishing. Tlie unimproved value of tho lands of the Dominion was set down in 1891 at £75,832,465, and in 1008 at no less a sum than £161,324,763! Not only has the policy of forcing up values thus enabled tho Pjujie Minister to point with prido to tho "wealth" of tho country, but it has also placed upon the land a staggering load of taxation. The amount collcctod in land tax has risen from £293,627 in 18991900 to almost 'exactly double that figure. it was £585,465 in tho last financial year. Tho people who are suffering under tho high rentals charged in Wellington havo largely to thank the Government for their troubles. No opportunity has been lost to raise values artificially in every part of the country. A special sale at a specially high price for a special reason is greedily seized upon by the Government valuers as tho standard of value in the neighbourhood. Nor has tho Government shown any inclination until now to abandon this bad policy. In our news columns to-day we give some figures respecting tho values which the Government has taken as the basis of tho rentals of tho Pitt Settlement sections. Tho price of these residential sections, 12j miles from Wellington, works out at from £300 to over £1000 an acre—equal to the price of factory sites on tho Thames near London in a timo of special demand! Tho next announcement of the Prime Minister- on the subject of Government valuations will be awaited with interest. He must, being a man of common sense, bo fully aware of tho evil effects of tho policy of inflating land values, but he will probably find himself in collision with the Radicals, who hate the landowner of overy degree, if he decides to alter a policy which enables tho Government to wring greater, and greater sums out of the occupants of the soil. Yet the need for reform is so urgent that the shortsighted Radicals must bo passed over for onco.