LICENSE DUTIES AND RATES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1053, 16 February 1911, Page 5

LICENSE DUTIES AND RATES.

IMPORTANT BRITISH CASE,

By Tdlegraph-Prcas AsecciaHon-Copyrighl. (Kec. February 15, 9.50 p.m.) 7 .'.'. ; London, February.ls.' Tho decision of the House of Lords in the Shoreditch assessment cose, cabled on July 29, has been delivered. Lord* Lorcburn and Shaw differed from the Court of Appeal, but Lords Halsbury and Atkinson agreed. The appeal by tho Crown therefore fails.

la the-Court of Appeal .on July 29 last, the Master of the Rolls and Lord Justices I'arwell and Kennedy gave judgmout in the appeal of the Shoreditch Assessment Committee from a decision of a divisional Court, upholding a mandamus to tho appellant committee directing them to -appoint a person to niakc a provisional valuation of the Crown and Shuttle, a onoreditch public-house, for purposes of assessment, on tho ground that the rateable value had been reduced bv tho increase of tho license duty under the Finance Act, 1910. Tho Divisional Court nad hold that the increase o£ the license duty was prima facie evidence of n reduction in tho value of the public-house, and their Lordships upheld this finding, ami dismissed tho appeal, with costs. ' The decision," wrote, tho "Manchester Guardian," "must not be taken to , carry further tbair it actually, goes. It does not mean.that the rateable value will be reduced by the total amount of tho duties, borne highly exaggerated estimates of the burden on tho rales have been made. All tho Court scorns to. have said is that tnero is a prima facie cafe in London for renewing the valuations of these licensed promises. Tho decreaso in tho assessments, whatever they may turn out to bo in each case, will certainly hot be for the whole amount of the duties. Two points seem to follow. The first ■is that the. extra grant to. the,local authorities from the land faxes will only «o to balance; the losses in rateable value to the assessment authorities, while 110 doubt the Chancellor of the Exchequer will expect fo.hear further, from the localities next year when tho relations between local artd authorities are' revised. Thoiothen.point is Mat the-linuor trade cannot ihav* it both:!-)caTs:':lf it is held thnt these extra duties havo lowered the value.", for rating purposes', they have aleb lowered the value for compensation purposes, and that fact onsht at once to be taken into account in granting compensation."