CLOSER SETTLEMENT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXI, Issue 15256, 17 March 1910, Page 6

CLOSER SETTLEMENT.

Tux gentleman who suggested to one of our representatives the other day that the Government would find an increased land tax, '•'another turn of the screw," a much move effective means of breaking up largo estates than any legislation that has yet been tried will find plenty of evidence in support of his view in some belated parliamentary papers that have just been issued from tho Government Printing Office. First of all, one of these papers shows that the number of estates in the dominion of a greater capital value than £50,000 increased from 194 in 1906 to 2-10 in 1909. No doubt some of the increase was due to revised valuations, but against this must be set the number of largo estates that were acquired by the Government during the three years covered by the return. Then another paper shows that 570 Crown tenants wero paying land tax on March 31, 1907, three years ago, and a third that 3431 had transferred their leases during the years 1908 and 1909. Tho significance of those figures lies in the proof they afford of the steady growth of the tenants' taxable and marketable interests in their holdings. The area of land involved in tho transfers amounted to no less than 2,181,010 acres. As for the land tax itself, the figures that have been prepared on the motion of Mr H. G. Ell are very illuminative. Tho number of tho landholders in tho dominion last year was 143,243 and the number of those paying land tax 24,629. Of the 24,629 taxpayers 15,383 paid loss than £5 apiece, 6137 between £5 and £2O, 2401 between £2O and £IOO, 353 between £IOO and £2OO, and 305 over £2OO. Only 113 paid £SOO or over. It is plain from these figures that the tax is pressing harshly on no one. Some of the ownors of estates valued at £50,000 pay less than £250 a year, and only 148 of them more than £4OO a year. Of course, tho graduated tax adds very considerably to the burdens of the owners of very large properties, but apparently tho groat majority of them prefer bearing "the com»*l«"".t" from which, they are suffering

to applying the obvious remedy. The present land tax has not been sufficient in itself to arouse any vast amount of onthusiasm on their part for the promotion of closer settlement..