THE LAND TAX.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 1477, 16 June 1879, Page 3

THE LAND TAX.

TO THK EDITOR OV TH3 TIMABTJ HKBAKD. Sib, — Having read with interest your answer to " Bather Puzzled," with regad to the Land Tax, and your aaiistant remarks and

js g c-t.i.n- o lio-nn..^ Ifp 1 Hin-r>mas£- fl t< , a-k jour opi' ioi on 'he following idea, whiel ;I>iB«. : »ftvs i-t uck ma na ''ting the iiptpri In' a "Inu-i' m III" L ml Tux Act, the omi'sioi of wliidi ' a» rcn'lo'ed this whole unworkabL nnd pxpimMvc, viz. : — Tim' it should him bm-ii iniidu mpriilive on all "landowners' (n>'t occui>i'-») nr Ihei agents m New Zea land, under pendty. to return to the Govern ment officer appointed, a clear •tatement o all rural and town Bcctioii', with the numhi-n and acroigf of each, owned by him, on a fixfC date. The notices which have been received are t chaos of error and confusion, and it is quite t curiosity to find one correct m all points. Il the numbers are recognised as belonging to ar estate, the acreage is generally wrong ; and as often the numbers represented are not or the ctuto lit nil, and their locality not known I think you will agreo with me that the numbers of rural and town sections, or parts ol same, wbb tho only true basis tr> start norl upon, when valuators would simply have had to carry out straightforward work, instead oi working m the dark among all the occupiers of land, t hi- majority of whom would neithei ho able to civo numbers of section or sectioni o „ nor aorrage or same. You miißt not wrongly imagine that I an a supporter of tho Act m any shape, but certainly a few clear-headed men of business wou'd havo rendered it more workable and less objectionable. I trust, at the opening of the present session ihn Act will get thrown out altogether, and something more practicable substituted. I am, &c, MODTTB OPBBiSDI. Tomuka, 14th June. [Wo think " Modus Oporandi " touches the point of tho matter. Tho first Btep should Imve been to identify each landowner with his land. Ample not ice would have been required to do thia ; but it might eaiily have been done. — Ed. "\H."\