LAND VALUES LEAGUE

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8559, 23 October 1913, Page 5

LAND VALUES LEAGUE

MEETING OP AVELLINGTON BRANCH. A meeting of the Wellington branch bf the Land Values League was held Jast evening in tho league’s rooms, Manners street, Mr P. J. O’Regan 'presiding. , Air AVithy reported that arrangements had been completed in connection with the annual “social,” to he Iheld on the 29th inst., and that the (Hon. Air Fowlds would be present. j Air F. W. Burke proposed the following resolution That this league affirms that the purpose of land value taxation is twofold —to ensure the equitable division of land, and to institute ,a just and permanent revenue, ,and in so far as a graduated tax 'would compel the division of land it [must necessarily involve the loss of revenue from land values. This league [therefore dissociates itself entirely ,from the demand for an increase of the : graduated tax, but reiterates its demand for a flat tax on land values without exemptions or graduations.” The speaker said that, now that the Land for Settlement Act had been completely discredited with everyone, except land monopolists and their friends, the Liberals were becoming insistent in the demand more graduated taxation. One would think that there were no land monopolists in this country but the squatters, while they were really only a corner of the picture, and the graduated tax would leave untouched the slum landlord and the rich monopolist of corner lots in towns and cities. . Air AVithy, in seconding the resolution, said the unearned increment of land waa the natural source of public revenue. It belonged to the people, whether it attached to country land or urban land. By all means tax the squatters, but do not ignore the town landlords, and they must insist that everybody must pay his share of State-created privilege in the form of land values. Mr O’Regan declared that the Land for Settlement Act was the greatest piece of political empiricism ever labelled Liberal. They had dinned this in the ear of the people for twenty years, but the Liberals seemed only to realise the truth when they were condemned to be the Opposition. The Act was utterly discredited, but the trouble was that when the time came to do something really effective, the effort would be spoiled by tinkering. Tho graduated tax had so far proved utterly useless, and it had lea in 1907 to an absurd distinction between rural and urban lands.. AA’hat was wanted was a flat tax unimpaired by either exemptions or graduations. They could not have a better illustration of sound principles of taxation than tho system of rating on unimproved values which was not vitiated by exemptions, graduations, or futile provisions about absentees. Air Fleming favoured the resolution. The graduated tax was useless as a revenue-producer, and revenue was ’ a necessity to every civilised community. Mr Edwards was of opinion tha’ subdivision in cities was what the land monopolists wanted, and he instanced the case of Miramar. AVhat was wanted was such taxation as would make use of land the sole right thereto. Air AVakefield said that though they were a minority of the community, their arguments were unanswerable. He stood uncompromisingly for a flat tax of so much in the pound on land values, without exemptions or graduations. The resolution was carried unanimously.