THE SINGLE TAX.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12929, 27 July 1905, Page 7

THE SINGLE TAX.

Sir,— Mr. Geo. Wilks had studied Henry George's "Progress and Poverty," in which the taxation of the value of unimproved land is advocated, or had discussed the question of single tax with any of the single-taxm of Auckland, he would not have written his letter published by you to-day. He says: "In your issue of June 19 it is reported that Mr. Johnston, one of the Land .Commission, said in Wellington that ' some, of the . land. to the north of Auckland would not keep a rabbit.' This may bo near the truth, for I am certain that if all the poor, pipeclay lands of the North were given to the Auckland single-taxers and to the land' nationalists among the trades unionists, and they ! were compelled to live on the same on pain of being shot if they left their respective holdings, they would in a short time all starve to death without being able to pay their pet tax to the State." Now, if the pipeclay land would not keep a rabbit," let alone a single-taxer,;- it can have no value, and, therefore,- no land tax would be payable on »fc under the.single tax system. But, if no better land were available for use in New Zealand, at any rate the unfortunate settlers would not have to pay excessive prices for nearly all the necessaries required for existence, owing to heavy protective duties and the monopoly of valuable lands in town and country. Under our present system of land holding and taxation he greatest share of the " taxation, iii proportion to income, is borne, by the workers,; •whether farmers, parsons, schoolteachers, or v artisans and general labourers, • and the revenue. from this taxation is used in making* railways, roads, bridges, public buildings, etc., which all add to the unimproved value of land, , but not to the. improvements, .so that the land-owning class,. gain larger amounts of "unearned increment" on the land'values at the expense of the community.. Under the single tax, or land tax, system, where land was as poor as Mr. Wilks refers to, no land tax would be payable, but, where land was rich or. easily cultivated or near, good roads, railways, or navigable rivers, the land values would be high, and, therefore more tax would be payable, but in neither case would any taxation be payable on the improvements; whereas, under our present system if the rabbits or the single-taxers ■ put. up hutches' on the pipeclay land of the North, they are taxed for doing so. • ' 1 A.J.M.