A DEFENCE OF THE LAND TAX.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XII, Issue 9510, 10 September 1879, Page 2

A DEFENCE OF THE LAND TAX.

Mr Turnbull, ths newly elected member for Timaru, thus referred to the Land Tax while addressing his constituents :—: —

Before going into the question of theElectoral Bill, he would call their attention to the subject of the Land Tax. He knew that those who thought upon it deeply had no doubt as to its justice.

Some people looked at it in a very narrow light, and the payment of ii had such an effect upon some people tlat he wished not only to speok to his owa constituents, but by means of reports in the Press to speak to those people upon that one point. He would speak to show them the justice of the tax and (he desirability of forbearance in regard to it. He woald warn those fighting against it, and would ask them to accept it rather than irritate the people, who if driven to opposition to the tax would— he would not say perpetuate an injustice — but would be driven to place more taxation on property. If they were driven to do it they would not be doing an unjust thing,for those very lands upon which people object to pay a in the £, had received the benefit of an outlay from the country of fifteen millions of money, to which outlay might be, traced directly the increase in the value of land. This increase was caused by the expenditure of eight millions on railways. Let them bear in mind he was taking Major Atkinson's figures, not the figures of any member on his own side, but Major Atkinson's — a gentleman of whom he spoke with the highest respect, because he considered him a man who had done great service to the country. The expenditure on railways, roada, bridges, lighthouses, and harbours, and the three millions spent on immigration out of the loan, had gone directly to giving that value to the land which otherwise it could not have possessed. They would perceive the justice of- this tax, when they saw that these lands would not have been anything like the value which they were now, if it had not been for this large expenditure. There has been an expenditure of fifteen millions, which entailed an annual debt of £90,0,000. Now, what did they ask those landowners to ,'do P They asked them to pay, by means of the land tax, one-ninth part of that annual debt. Was that an injustice 1 (Applause.) It was a tax which no reasonable man could object to pay, and the country drew from the Consolidated revenue and from the Land Fund, to made up the remaining eight-ninths of this annual charge. He deeply regretted that Hansard was not more generally read, as by the arguments adduced they would see that the things advanced against the land tax were completely refuted. When Mr Ballance brought forward the bill embodying the tax, he stated it was to avoid taxing labour and improvements. They did not impose any tax on improvements, but simply put the tax on the value ot the land, was it an injustice ? Was that an attempt to crush a small farmer P £A voice :' " Yes ;" and numerous voices "No ;" and applause.) To the centleman who said tf Yes," he would say that if that was his opinion, the farmer must be easily crushed. (Laughter.) There' were men who had thousands of acres who had never done anythihg towards improving them, but there was the small laud owner who had put his 10 or 15 years' labour into his land, and it was not light that he should be taxed upon that labour."