RATING VALUES.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 17133, 8 September 1926, Page 10

RATING VALUES.

(To the Editor of the Herald.)

Sir, —I hope you will grant me space in your paper to reply to letter signed " Capital Value." " Capital Value " states that mii nip roved value Mould be fatal for small rainier!:. Haw a and Waikolm both have adopted it. Thai capital value is no good' to the slieepfanners says your correspondent. Waiapu still rales on capital value. Now WaikoTiu and Uawa counties have a, large number oT farmers, and Waiapu is practically sheepfarmirig country, and therefore " Capital Value," these three counties are heading for financial suicido. I like Ihe part of " Capital Value's "

letter where lie gives a long explanation showing that second and third class land under unimproved value would eventually pay no rates. As the hulk of the Cook County consists of this class of kind, paying no rates would be a iioori. in his second letter, dealing chiefly with flunguoa and (iisborne ridings/he thalks about a Mat rale. Now. sir, what in the name of goodness has

a. lint rate got to do with it? Merely a. smoke screen for the farmers. He endeavors in his second letter to show that the fanners on the flats would he making a mistake, yet in his first letter he states: " I admit that the present system (capital valuation) has one drawback, that improvements such as dwelling houses have to pay rates, n fact that hears badly oai the small fanner." Exactly.—l am, etc., RATEPAYER.