FARMER AND THE FARM

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 269, 28 October 1932, Page 8

FARMER AND THE FARM

(To the Editor.) Sir, —Your imaginative and poetical correspondent “Leave Well Alone”— that is always the cry, by the bye, of your Tory who wishes to retain his socalled “ vested rights ” in public wrongs —is correct when he says that the question of rating on the unimproved land, rather than on the value of both the land and the improvements on it, “is of much importance to the farming community in Hawke’s Bay.” “Leave Well Alone,” however, utterly fails to differentiate between the two great classes of farmers—(l) the farm or who farms the farm, and (2) the farmer who farms the farmer. These two classes of farmers have diametrically opposite interests in the matter. “The farmer who farms the farmer,” be it noted, is interested in “leaving well alone,” whereas the farmer who farms the farm is interested in altering the system to rating on the unimproved value, so that he will not be penalised for mending his fences and gates, painting his house or his barn, and so on. Your correspondent claims that rating on the capital value is not a faulty system. It is not only demonstrably unsound economically, but it is positively unjust. Assuming that “Leave Well Alone” is a ratepayer in the county, why has his property any value whatsoever, apart from the improvements that he and/or previous owners and occupiers have made on the land? If it were absolutely unimproved and for sale, for example, how would he advertise it Good “talking points,” as the Yankees say, would doubtless bo (1) county rate lowest in New Zealand, (2) county free from debt, and (3) good roads. Then if it is handy to a railway-station, a post-office, a State school, a hospital, a church, or a store, etc., it would be well to mention such facts. While, if it is a dairy farm, nearness to a butter-factory or a township—or, if it is a sheep farm, nearness to a freezing works—would be good selling points. These would be among the items that gave it an unimproved value—a selling value, though absolutely unimproved. Manifestly, “Leave Well Alone” would have made not one penny-piece of that unimproved value; for, in the terms of the case, he has done nothing whatever. And, equally clearly, whatever value the property would have in its unimproved state would be a com-munity-created value. That is to say, a value made by and theerfore rightly belonging to the commnity as a whole. Whereas improvements are made by, and therefore; justly belong to, the individual owners or occupiers of the land. It is right and just, and it is economically sound to rate on the unimproved value of the land, thus taking for the community only the values created by the community.

How can “Leave Well Alone” have the hardihood to say that “under the system of rating on the unimproved value, the burden of taxation would fall unfairly on the dairy fermer, and a greater burden still would fall on the sheep farmer”? Rating on unimproved

values would not take from either the dairy farmer or the sheep-farmer one penny-piece of their own earnings. As to freezing works, stores and other industries with largo capital values, if be had made any real study of economics, “Leave Well Alone” would know right well that freezing works, stores and so forth now pass on to the consumers—that is to say, on to the farmers and others—any local taxation levied on their improvements; and pass it on, too, with their usual profits added. As to rating on unimproved values inducing industries to remove into the county, and causing residential areas to spring up in the county, that would mean an increased demand for land, and therefore higher land values would yield more income for the county. Further, such areas could surely be easily made into special rating areas if they required water and sanitary services, better roads, or any other special services. Dairy farmers and sheep farmers who take up only as much land as they can really use, and do not indulge in land monopoly and land speculation—that is to say, in “farming the farmer” as well as in farming the land —have nothing to fear from rating of unimproved values. With land values economic, instead of monopolistic and speculative, Hawke’s Bay—whether for dairy fanners, sheep farmers, fruit farmers, or anybody else —would be far more truly prosperous than it is today.—l am. etc., HONEST RATING. Hastings, October 27, 1932.