VALUATION OF LAND

Taranaki Daily News, 13 October 1934, Page 7

VALUATION OF LAND

MINISTER EXPLAINS POSITION. PREVENTION OF EXPLOITATION. (By Wire— Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, Last Night. “What steps are being taken to stop the exploitation of decent ratepayers who pay their full rates by the clever people who get revaluations?” asked Mr. W. Nash when the Valuation Department’s estimates came under consideration in the House of Representatives to-day. He explained that those ratepayers who' took advantage of the special revaluation provisions had avoided the obligations which decent ratepayers, as he called them, had to meet. The Hon. E. A. Ransom, Minister of Lands reminded the questioner that last year the House passed legislation which enabled cities and boroughs to deal with tills difficulty by striking a rate on 75 per cent, of the valuation where there had been no special revaluation. This had been in operation so effectively that some of those who had obtained a special revaluation found that they received no benefit frdm it and applied for another revaluation.

The department’s staff was being increased and the difficulty mentioned by the member had been largely overcome, not only by the legislation he had mentioned, but by a further provision that when an objecting owner offered the Government his property at the . amount of the valuation it was also open for private sale at the same price.