LIABILITY FOR RATES

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 5, 1 October 1935, Page 16

LIABILITY FOR RATES

College Trust Board Seeks

Decision of Court

EXEMPTION CLAIMED

Legal argument as to the liability of St. John’s College, Auckland, for the payment of rates was heard before the Court of Appeal in Wellington yesterday. On the bench were the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers), Mr. Justice Reed, Mr. Justice Smith, Mr. Justice Johnston, and Mr. Justice Fair. Mr. A. I-I. Johnstone, K.C., with Mr. I. H. 3lacarthur, appeared for the collegt trust board and 3lr. J. Stanton for the Auckland City Council. In his outline of the case, Mr. Johnstone said that the city council claimed from the board £645 for rates for the years 1933, 1934, and 1935, and also an additional sum of £64 for the 10 per cent, penalty which had since accrued. The board maintained that the land and buildings to be rated were land and buildings used for a school not carried oh exclusively for pecuniary gain or profit,, and by consent, to test whether that contention was sound or not, the case was removed into the Court of Appeal for argument. “The matter is of considerable importance to the board because of the heavy drain upon its finances,” said 3lr. Johnstone, “and the board thought it advisable to seek the judgment of this court before it paid these somewhat heavy claims for rates. It is, of course, conceded that the institution is not carried on for pecuniary gain.or profit, and therefore the sole question for the decision of the court is, is it a school ? In our submission it is.” Mr. Stanton contended that St. John’s was not a school in the sense in which that word had been interpreted by various decisions. He submitted that school in the list of exemptions for rating purposes meant a general educational institution, that . distinction had to be drawn between an institution which provided a course of study generally adopted for all students and one which provided a specialised course for specific professions or callings or in special subjects. The court reserved its decision.