MY CASE.—OKAHU TAXATION.-ABUSE OF ACREAGE RATING.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4605, 28 May 1872, Page 3

MY CASE.—OKAHU TAXATION. - ABUSE OF ACREAGE RATING.

Sir,— Partly in consequence of my misapprehension when called upon to notice this year's application of acreage rating by some observations in your columns, I endeavoured in my last on that subject to discover what Acts and what clauses were alluded to ; but not being able at the time to get a sight of the Act, newly brought iuto operation, I could not form any opinion thereon. But since then, having learnt that Mr. Cleghorn ha 3 been charged with an excessive road rate of 5 per cent, on value, under plea of acreage, on the assessment roll of Okahu, through his name remaining inadvertently, as a natural provisional guardian of that money, until a better disposition on its sale had been effected, and as this affair was mine, and not his, I could not allow him to be subject to its consequences, although I believed such charge to be illegal, being as 12d. for wild, remote land, to Id. for improved valuable land near Auckland ; and this not upon estimated value, which I am told by salesmen is now not exceeding Is. per acre, whereby we have been unable to sell, while I would quote my value at cost price, boing ss. per acre or £72, which is charged with a rate of £3 10s. 9d. But as I was counselled that the Empowering Act does not operate on rates of the current year, I have paid this rate : yet if the roll was nofc forwarded and published in due time as complete and in force, after time for appeal, before the Ist January, 1872, the date on whiol) the Empowering Act became in opera, tion, then would this rate be illegal. The rate note received on 24th was dated 16th Apiil, 1572. But the injustice of this charge appears to me evident on the face of the bill of 1871 itself, because it provides for a high rate on acreage for improved lands, which nevertheless is limited, as equivalent to £2 per acre value j consequently, where the real value does not exceed the one-fourth of a pound, then a high value charge of 3d. could not be charged on less than four acres. Now as these resident ratepayers, who regulate the charge, bought and selected from the whole block, free from foreign competition, it necessarily follows that those who, likeme, were limited to time, were compelled to take the remaining refuse after the conclusion ,qf their selections, and thus suffer by a great difference of value in position and frontage, 'and in all probability of quality, of land and ita surface occupation. It became their interest to make an unclassified general rate, which had the effect of depriving the law of ita spirit of classification, and took from the magistrate his right of equitable arbitration on the estimated value, but which under classification would have enabled him to remove a less valuable land to an inferior class. Had 1 banked this money (£72) I should have received 7 per cent., or £19 120. in these four* years. Now, 7 per cent, per annum, and your charge of 5 per cent, added to this loss, makes 12 per cent, difference between bank securities and land securities. Nor would the unsaleableness of this land have taken place on the Waikato land, which as boing within reach we desired to acquire at any price, but from which, by some political reasons known only to the ofhcial department, I was unexpectedly excluded. Consequently I have paid Is. in the pound value, or 5 per cent, on unproductive land, which cannot be made to produce without a large amount of additional capital to be expended, and the intermediate time a drag upon other resources. Although by the Empowering Act this evil is partly corrected, it doea not go sufficiently far. In England the rate is at 24 per cent, on the annual value to produte; in JSTew Zealand, it is by this Act declared at 5 per cent, ditto. But ai the land must remain non-productive for a long time, there should be some time allowed for obtaining produce as in California, where there is five years' residence without taxes. But as the rate is levied here, before there be produce, it must be raised from some other property. And thus, besides paying 5 per cent, on cost of valueless land and non-pro-ducine; property, my income from other real property, which has already paid its own rate at Id. per pound on value, ia burdened with a further charge of 7 per cent. It is foolishness to tell any one he should defend himself by attending these remote meetings, when the necessary expense would more than double the late. Nor can we overlook the fact that residents can obtain an early return, at small outlay, while the remote back lands cannot be utilised without a large outlay, with a much later return ; and thus the interior land to the owner is as iron ore to the smith. Nor can we forget that, while the lands near Auckland are I lowered in estimated value at lrast onethird below cost, as in England, it has been found from experience that Id. in the pound is the most it will bear ; yet thiß remote bush land, 100 miles from market, is [ rated at Is. in the pound value, under the equivoque of a acreage relieving rate. Now, by the new law, thia land cannot be surrendered, either in part or in whole ; because, being able to recover personally, the Board would refuse to buy, and the Superintondent lefuse to advance on credit, or to resume and sell the land, because his Minister of Agriculture has cautioned him that these lands are not worth one year's road rate, although sold by him at 10s. per acre. In California land can be obtained for a simple five-years' residence, without taxation : they know that to reduce the land to culture, build, and oscupy it, ia more profitable, by introducing money, men, and markets, than grinding the speculator with taxation before returns are obtained. — Yours, &c., • W. Powditch.