THE POOR FARMER.

Timaru Herald, Volume LII, Issue 5170, 17 June 1891, Page 3

THE POOR FARMER.

A '' farmer" sendß tba following to the Hawora Star: —" Tho Hon. I?. Seddon, Minister of Mines, m his speech at the 1 Thames, stated ' that tho Government had 1 made up their miuds to niter tho incidence of taxation, and put a tax upon land, as nt proaont under the Property Tax (Id m tho£) . lnnd only paid £350,000, and that over a million and n-half was paid through tho Customs.' When tho Minister made that statement ho must have overlooked the fact that land ownors paid m direct taxation and upon tho Property Tax valuation a coun'y, road board, and charitable aid tax. The two first mentioned are Jd, and "the ! latter id m the £, so that tho land pays a further dirent tax of £612,500. As thoro ; taxes are paid to tho local bodies without, any exemption, as m tho case of the Property Tax, 1 a further sum of £40,000 may be added, co that the land is directly faxed to the extent of £1,002,500. Further, landowners, recognising that land has its responsibility, have m many instances mortgaged thoir lands to tho Govornmont to raiso ' special loans * for > tho purpose of making roads m their district, ' thereby enhancing tho voluo of the public lands of tbo colony further back from tbo 1 main road and railways. Can aueh be said of the owners of any lorpe mining claim i or factory m tho colony ? l'o not tho ' farmers contribute their ehire towards the , million and a half received through the Customs ? Bo not they pay 25 per cent on , agricultural implements ? Do not the farmers pny a very largo proportion. of the earnings of the railways by finding loading both ways to and from tho ports ? Js it not within the mark to say that they pay at least 2£ per cent m freight on tho fourteen millions which tho railways have ccft the country ?"