MOUNT EDEN RATING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20239, 26 April 1929, Page 16

MOUNT EDEN RATING.

Sir,—Mr. J. Thornes states that rating on unimproved values will make property cheaper for those who want it. That is the very point that most householders do not want for having paid a good price for their property why should they be rated in such a manner as to compel them to sell it at a loss just to allow somebody else to get it cheap ? If land was £IOOO ait acre everyone would make use of it, but if it is worth only a few pounds nobody will bother about it. Owners of real estate should pause before voting in a system that will in the end practically amount to the confiscation of their property without compensation. Common Sexse.

Sir, — No doubt Mr. Thornes is pleased with the prospect of rating on unimproved values being carried in Mount Eden. He states that it will ease the price of land, but if he owned the land perhaps he would think differently. Why sacrifice the present owners just to give others a bargain ? Surely there are enough unoccupied houses) already to satisfy Mr. Thornes without forcing owners of sections to make matters worse by building jerry houses before they are in a position to build better ones. Then in the case of the house-owner who has plenty of air space and a pretty garden, why rate him higher than the man on a skimpy section that has not room for a garden ? If property values are to be pulled down how are local bodies to get loans on fair terms when the very foundation of credit is placed in jeopardy ? The loans were all borrowed under the old system of rating, so is it fair to change the system now ? Sohod.