THE TAXATION BILL.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13389, 12 September 1907, Page 5

THE TAXATION BILL.

REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE. IMPORTANT AMENDMENTS. (Special—By Telegraph.) WELLINGTON, September 11. The Public Accounts Committee tliis afternoon presented its report on the Land' and Income A-.-sessnuttt Bill, which is ti>' be considered as soon as the tariff is disposed of. The operation of clause 7, imposing an extra graduated land tax of 25 per cent., lias been postponed for a year. The promise mada in ths Financial B.tatemMit to put homestead sites on an equal footing with business premise-:, lias not been carried out, owing to tlift difficulty of drafting a clause for the purpose. <- The piovision in clause 10 making the losses liable as.if an owner for his leasehold, as well as his freehold, property for the pu-iposojof assessing .his rate of taxation, lias been amended by excluding from t!ie operation of tliis provision leases wheretlk- leaseholder has not had any oym-fship in the land for the previous five years. Clause 11, which provides for a shareholder in a company paying land tax as a shaiehold-u", and which ako add 1 ; on his interest in the company to the land he owns in severalty, .has been modified to malse it perfectly clear that he is enly liable for land tax and graduated: tax cn his severalty interest plus his interest as a shareholder in the company. An important amendment has been made in clause 10, which provided' that Iho seller of land should be deemed to be in* owner for taxation purpa es until a fourth of the purchase money was paid. The one-fourth of the purchase nKin;y lu-.u been altered 1 to 15 per cent. Another important amendment -has been made in clause 22. The clause pioviued that mineTaLs, timh;r and ilax should not be assessed for land tax, whether oruinary or graduated, but the income tax derived from the minerals, timber and flax should be taxed. The clause has been amended by cutting out timber and flax from its provisions. Flax remains as it is in the existing law; its value is added on to the unimproved value of the land. Timber it is now picpose-d shall be dt alt with in the same way, but only up to 50 per cent, of the value 1 of the standing timber. At present, the whole of tlio timber i.-i <ka!t with. This is legarded as a big concession. An amendment har; b .-n mad.e in claiu-a 22, o.nling with minerals on- land; the term "minerals" has be n widened to include gravel, sand and piecious stones. Thus, for instance, if a person derivvs an incomei from sand or gravel on his land, i-hal, income will be liable to taxation. The Committee has stlso struck out. as being too inquisitorial that paragiaph of claufrct 23 which enab'.e.l' the Comir.i; sior- v to compel any person to give any information in his power about, nth t pcijon'i land, income, properly or a.i:.:.-nisnl. (Xnaina*aMcUMKa>i3ia«9OTMMHNi