Hawake's Bay Herald. MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1879. THE PROPERTY TAX.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5557, 8 December 1879, Page 2

Hawake's Bay Herald. MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1879. THE PROPERTY TAX.

tVi outsiders tke apparent apathy of. tlfe House in reference to the Pi*operfcy Tax Assessment Bill is unaccountable. The divisions, both on the second reading and on tho motion for going into committee on the bill, were taken in very tliiu Houses, inany of tho leading Opposition; members being conspicuous bv their absence. They must either have approved or disapproved of the measure, and it was their duty to tkeir constituencies and to the colony to record their votes oa-sllch an important measurev Some of the Government supporters doubtless were so much, opposed to tho bill that they would not vote for it, and were yet unprepared to vote against it, and so probably depose the Hall Ministry. This is not a valid excuse, for though it might be allowed in some matter of secondary importance, no one can defend their action when a measure so intimately affecting the welfare of the community is at stake. On the other side, the Opposition perhaps despaired of defeating the bill, and, tired out with the work of the session, preferred to seek their beds rather than wait for the division bell. This excuse has even less in it than the other. It was the absolute duty of any man disapproving of the bill to record his emphatic protest against it, even though he might despair of making that .protest effectual. The Property Assessment Bill is to some extent misunderstood by the public. It does not actually impose a tax of a penny or any other amount on property; It provides only the machinery of the tax, and the tax itself would be levied by another bill. There is a wide-spread impression that this second bill will not be brought down this : year, arid probably many members were more careless on this account than they would have been, if the bill now before tho House had actually imposed the tax. Still, even though itwere absolutely certain that the second bill would not be brought in this session, this would not excuse tho apathy, Bh^wn about the Property Assessment Bill, - , which definitely decides the' nature and principles of the tax. There is, |we believe, a hope that before the time coines for it to be enforced the pressure of public opinion will compel tho Ministry to withdraw the bill, but that does not exempt representatives from the duty of carefully considering every detail, and by their speeches "educating." public opinion by showing the true bearing of" the measure. Major Atkinson expresses his willingness to allow any amendments not absolutely destroying" the principle of the measure ; but this is not enough. The modifications lie indicates '.'. would relieve the trading community, but the objectionable, one-sided, ■ and inequitable nature of the tax wo\ild remain in .its entirety, though the circle of its operation would be circumscribed. „ .';-.. Mr Stout has m a series of letters addressed to the Otago Daily Times given some striking illustrations of what would the working of the tax sho\ild it become law. In some instances he rides a theoretical hobby too far, but in others his arguments are simply unanswerable. In i one of his letters he refers to "thehardworking pioneer settler " and " the struggling city tradesman." Of the former he says: — " At present the settler pays one halfpenny in the pound on the value toi sell of his land, minus £500 and all improvements. In order to encourage him tlie present Tory Ministry propose to charge him one penny in the pound on the total value to sell of his ■ land, and also ono penny on the total value of all his property, minus £300 worth. Let me take a case. A settler has 300 acres of land worth £5 per acre, excluding improvements— £lsoo in all. .Under the Land Tax Act he pays on £1000, or £2 Is Bd. Under $o proposed property tax he has to pay ~at least double that amount for his larid.; . but that is not all. He has to pay a tax on all his realised personal property as well. Suppose his improvements,.including house, barn, stable, and farm; build- : ; ings, (£500), mprovemehts pa farm,

ploughed and s6w:n land, 'fehein^ difcii- • ing,;se. (£10(70), are together £15"00-ithat wotiid make Ms landy.wit^ Improvements, £K> per acre, £300din' iil|.i : Buf- ho .Hols other personal propo^-i-vi^^B^^, cattle, pjgjfj. and farm ifnplemejjifs, fu^r .turc aii'dfTOacninery, "b^st" loWcstlmlte another £500 worth of property ; and he believes in the Paulino maxim, " Owe no man auyth'ing," and has npdeb.ts ; thenhe would Have. to pay, on £3500 minus. £300---—that" i£, •: on £3S!oo, and this at a^penny' •amounts to £13' r "6a ; ~Bdf r The rfet gain (!) to c him js ' : an v extra tax of £11 5s ! ! This is the aid tho Conservative Government . grants, to the 'hard working pioneer settler.' " The manner in which the tax affects the, tradesman is thus shown :— " I first suppose he is thd freeholder Odf his "city frontage, and I assume that lie has- his building in Duncdin, in one of the best paddocks. : The result will be that he will have, say, t33 feet frontage> At a value o£ £70 or £100 per fcfot. This is^ I believe, .the highest. ••' Suppose' it' is '£7*o, then he pa^a a halfpenny on £2310 minus £500 — £1810, which means a tafc xuider the present Lattd Tax of &% 15s sd. But then tile Conservatives are anxious to help the struggling city tradesman, and ■•therefore he must pay a tax on all his : property. This consists of . his land, his '.'buildings, his' '"furniture, and stock. Suppose the buildings cost him £1500, his furniture and stock another £1500. ' I am taking a struggling city tradesman, . but also one who has obeyed the apostolic maxim of not getting into debt. He will 'be helped- by .being asked to pay, instead ;of £3 ; tss sd>" the sum of £20 17s 6d. ;How fervently must he thank the Conservative Government for such help!" But more foreiMethfeiri even < these is an ; instance of how tfio City of Dunedin ! would be affected by the tax. Mr Stout says :t-?" Roughly, -■ stated,-; the .valuation, of land and improvements in Dunedin is about £5,00O)b6O. r The land tax valuers fixed it at £'1,914,391. As improvements are always going on, it may be assumed that... five millions- is not far from the amount. This, at a penny in the pound, amounts to £20,833 6s Bd. Now the city i annual valuation, - on which, .rates are charged amounts to nearly £275,000 (the ,'exact amount is £271,035:) v The general rate on this amount is, one shilling, in the pound, and tub special", threepence— in all £17>157 jlOjj^.(thiis- year, actual- £16,939 ,'l3s 9d-X Under, the pr^serit tax on land • and im^W^iem'fent¥alon^ tlie city will pay of three thousand \ pounds more to the Treasury in Wellington than it 'pays in city rates! But then that |is not all.:_ the t ,,citv pftyji.^in . ad. xfttibV-'-'ftr penny ' kto&in'-irade^ .of every clc'dler, dnd , on furniture of cviery household. "Even' with the £300 'exemption, which. I have not deducted in my former calculation, I , believe it will I3e found that' the proposed property tax payable by Dunedin will be about double the city rate/'