OUR TAXATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 7922, 14 April 1887, Page 6

OUR TAXATION.

'I TO THK KDITOH. e Sir,--la reply to my letter re taxatit ,' Mr. H. S. Andrews stated that 1 a J e evidently desirous of bringing a charj r8 against the Government whilst givir publicity to my own peculiar case as a leas >' holder, or words to that effect. Perhaps tl . lack of lucidity and the absence of definitne m in my letter justified Mr. Andrews : discovering evidence of such a nature; bi )0 there was certainly no intention to char; 31 . the Government with wrong in adininisterii to an iniquitous Act which was handed to the le as a legacy from their predecessors in offic la and which is now to all appearauce only ke , e in active operation by the exigencies of t l 0 present peculiar position of the Governme ,» itself. Mr. Andrews further stated that * must have calculated to a nicety what t aa local taxation and other incidental expeus would be when I entered into the covenau 0 f of the lease but he evidently could n have known that, the valuation upon whi( the present local t*x was levied was mai subsequent to the lease ; and in consequen °f of the greatly-increased valuation, the 100 st rate rose in one year something ovor £7 )n and it would have required more thi r - ordinary calculation to have anticipated bu< °f a contingency. 1 do not know wheth <*,•". the property tax valuation put upon t - estate under consideration is beyond its at* as line; intrinsic worth or not; but this is mai 16 feat if the estate was sold at its prese r » valuation, the rental would not return t e- purchaser one per cent, per annum for 1 1( * money, and taking this as calculated to ent a loss of five per cent, per annum, at the e of the lease it would cost the purchaser ful U' 50 per cent, more, through loss in intern er unless ho extinguished the lease in the mes '*• time. Perhaps this will be taken as inferent k- evidence that the valuation is excessive. to dealing with our present difficulties there io_ no utility in going back to 22 years a merely to show what could then be made c of a paddock of potatoes. What we have U8 consider is tbe fact that our taxation isgre lD - and likely to become greater, whilst c ;ry present ability to pay taxes is very am led indeed, and is daily becoming smaller. ™ hope and believe that the country will 3 ibe adopt some each system as that indical ibo by Mr. Andrews for local taxation, and p of aonally I thank him for directing attenti to it, also for the gentle and temperate c [?," I cism of my latter.—l am, <ko,, M ' April 9, 1887. F. Lawry