LAND VALUATION

Hawera Star, Volume LIII, 28 September 1933, Page 6

LAND VALUATION

AMENDING LEGISLATION. LOCAL BODIES AND HATING. During the recess ot the New Zealand Parliament the Minister of Lands, the Hon. E. A. Ransom, announced the Government’s intention to amend, sections 45 and 50 of the Valuation of Land Act. Section 50 gives a pro-pertv-owner payer to require a new valuation of his property and orders that the valuation roll in force must be amended according to the new valuation. Under section 54 a propertyowner may call upon the Crown to reduce the valuation of his property to his figure or to purchase at its own figure. . The Government considers that unfair advantage has been taken of the latter sectiou during the present period of low prices for produce and land, while local bodies have objected to section 50 on the ground that m the absence of a general revaluation the reduction of individual valuations imposed a greater burden of rates upon the general body of ratepayers, whose valuations were not altered. The framing of legislation to meet this position and yet preserve the rights 1 of property-owners _ has proved a difficult problem, but it is understood! that the form of the amendment to* the Act may be in the direction of giving power to local bodies arbitrarily to adjust valuations for rating purposes (states the “Dominion.”) Presumably the object of such legislation would be to allow’local bodies, m districts where reductions had been made in individual valuations, to reduce other valuations for rating purposes so that the burden of rates could be spread more evenly. Under the present system, when a fixed amount m rates has to he collected over a given area, those who have secured reductions in their valuations escape their fair share of the rate levy and l a proportionately heavier burden is placed on other ratepayers'.