LAND VALUATIONS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2093, 30 May 1907, Page 1

LAND VALUATIONS.

LOCAL BODIES AND THE DEPARTMENT.

THE MINISTER IN REPLY

That tho present system of valuing properties throughout the colony by the Valuation (Department is unreasonably costly and presses unduly upon tho lionvily burdened taxpayers, and that tho. various local authorities having a thorough knowledge of the respective values of properties under their control, could with confidence make nil valuations for less than half the charges now imposed by tho Valuation Department.

The above resolution, carried at last meeting of the Clifton (Taranaki) County Council, was brought under the notice of tiie Minister of Rands by a member of the Evening Post staff.

The Minister roplied that the cost of valuation under the Valuation of

Land Department, no matter what any person said on the subject, could only be ascertained by examining into the figures of the cost of the department to the colony. For - the year ended 31st March 1907, the expenditure of the Department amoun-

ted to £30,450. The receipts were as follows: General fees, £4915; local bodies contributions, £6425; Government Advances to Settlers Office fee, £3700; Land Tax Department contributions, £7500; showing a total of £22,540, so that the net cost of the Department for the year was £7910. - ‘You will notice that tho local bodies only contributed £6425 of a total of £35,450. Dealing with those receipts generally I would say, regarding the general fees, that those included all fees from persons and Government Departments, such as the Land Tax and Advances to Set-

tlors, and are charged and recovered under regulations 14 and 15 of the Government Valuation of Land Act, 1896, and 1900.'' In regard to local bodies’ contributions, which are complained of as unreasonably costly and pressing unduly upon the heavily burdened taxpayers, it Is said that tlio local authorities could do

the work cheaper. These are charged and recovered under regulations 16 to 21 of the Government Valuation Land Acts, 1896 and 1900. This • represents one-third sliaro of the .whole cost of the work done in connection with tho valuations, which are used by the local authorities of the colony, but is not one-tliird share •of the cost of tile valuation work, as a portion of this cost is incurred in

districts local bodies of which do not use the department’s valuation rolls. As to the Government Advances to Settlers’ fees, amounting to £3700, .this represents fees which are paid to the Superintendent of the Advances to Settlers Office under regulation 7 of the Act of 1896, and which are handed over to the Valjuatjion Department in return for work done in

making valuations and furnishing reports for the purpose of granting rloans. It also includes the amount (of £SOO for agency work done in the •four local offices of the Valuation •Department. These fees are fixed on ; the amount of loan required and not on the basis of cost incurred in making tlic valuation, the result being that the fees barely cover the expenses and in many cases there is a loss -to the department, and thereby increases the net cost of the working of the Department as shown in the (balance-sheet. The land tax contribution of £7500 is recovered under regulation 16 of the Government Val-

nation of Land Act 1896 and 1900, and represents tile one-third share

therein mentioned as to ho borne by the Land and Income Tax Department.

“The contributions therefore by the local authorities do not to any extent at all pay for the Valuation Department. I think the local bodies are

under the impression that the cost of the department is borne by them, but the fallacy of that, can he seen when it is known that of the total amount of £30,450, they only pay £6425, the general taxpayer bearing £7910. Tho Valuation . Department

has many duties to perform. On its valuation depends the assessments, not only for local bodies’ contributions, but for. the land tax. Deceased estates duties collected by the Stamp. Office during the year are on their valuations; the Advances- to Settlers use them; tho Government Insurance Office and the-l’-üblic Trust Office lend money on valuations on their basis; and it is indicative of the care which they exercise in the work that up to the present time the Advances to Settlers Department

uis had to face no loss in regard to

its loans, “In regard to tin; local authorities

valuing for their own purposes, I do not think the colony would ever retuprn to that condition of affairs. 1 have, in administering tho department, always endeavored to investigate complaints made of excess in values. These complaints have struck mb as being very few in number since I took over the administration last August. 1 Some of the com-

plainants had never used the machinery of the law to get relief; others had used it and failed, but

both added together were only a fraction of 'the number of values made. I cannot recall cases where we were faced with the question of

purchase unjler the Land for Settlements Act and had to. buy at less than the land tax valuation, It is

notorious that we have to pay far in excess of the land tax valuation. In following up the operation of the department and complaints of individual cases, 1 have taken the sales over considerable areas of country: I mean the sales which followed after our valuation —and in all cases which came under my notice the s,ales were for sums in excess of the land tax valuation. . “I do not profess that the depart-

ment is a perfect working machine, hut from the head of the department right flown through all grades, we

are prepared to listen to all bona fide complaints, and to seek by amendment of the law or otherwise to have them remedied. Hut we

cannot fight against complaints where they are not put up to us specifically in black and white, and many of the complaints going around we sec for the first time in the columns of the'newspapers. We cannot be held responsible because of' tho high prices of Ian(l ail over the colony. If people will go into the auction room and bid high prices for land, tliey cannot complain of tho Valuation Department ’ reconsidering values in localities, but I have always informed departmental officers, without laying it down as a specific instruction to them, that there is no, desire on the part of the Goverpnion j, for their valuations to tread on tfie lieels of the competitive values upon the market, much less to overrun them. I am willing at all times to hear complaints of individuals and of local bodies, and to remedy abuses.” - :

I It lias been unanimously decided by the Taonui (Feilding) School Commiteo that in future no homo lessons be givon the pupils attending that school.

A strong argument in favor of a colonial Saturday half-holiday was adduced at a meeting, held at Invercargill by Mr. J. S. Murphy, who holds tho rank of captain, and has ,been most enthusiastic iii the Volunteer movement. Speaking from practical experience, lie declared that volunteering was suffering seriously from tho dual weekly half-holiday (Wednesday and Saturday), so much so, in fact, that it was a matter of increasing difficulty to get a muster. To ensure that New Zealand should he in a position to offer an effective! defence should the emergency arise, it was of the highest importance that a vigorous and not a languishing Volunteer force should he at command —on that point the press and tho public men were in eloquent agreement. He was satisfied that if they adopted the universal Saturday half-holiday, they would do more to encourage Volunteering than they possibly could by any other means — an opinion which the applause of the infecting showed was heartily endorsed.