BURDEN OF TAXATION

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 30, 5 February 1932, Page 3

BURDEN OF TAXATION

A meeting of the Eastern Ratepayers' Association of Petone was held last night, Mr. W. D. "Watkinson presiding. It was decided to wait on the next meeting of the Petone Borough Council with, a petition asking for a poll of ratepayers to determine whether the borough should be rated wholly on the unimproved value. Already 455 of the 1600 ratepayers of Petone have signed the petition. It was stated that rating on. the unimproved value saved the average householder about El a year, and that nearly two-thirds of the boroughs in New Zealand had adopted the unimproved value rating system. The Hospital and Charitable Aid Board levy was discussed, and the following resolution, proposed by Mr. J. W. McEwan, was carried unanimously:—"That, as unemployment is a result of national causes, it follows that 1 the steps taken to alleviate the distress arising therefrom should be along national lines, and the functions of hospital boards so far as sustenance is concerned should be confined to eases of distress due to the ill-health of the bread-winnera, thus materially reducing the ever-increasing amount "of levies made by hospital boards upon local bodies."

A copy of this resolution will be sent to the Minister of Health, and to the Petono Borough Council, and an endeavour will be made to gain tho support of other local bodies.

At present all rates in the borough are on the unimproved value except the hospital rate, which is on capital value and the water rate, which is on the annual value. Tho idea of the association is that there should be a flat unimproved rate such as was recently decided upon by Wellington City.