LAND TAX BILL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2183, 12 September 1907, Page 2

LAND TAX BILL.

AAIENDAIENT BY PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COAIMITTEE. ‘

(Special to Times.)' AA'ELLINGTON, September 11. The Public Accounts Committee, which has been considering the Land and Assessment Bill for some time past, reported the measure to the House this afternoon with amendments. The term “business purposes” is made to include such additional land as immediately adjoins . the said building, and is used and occupied in connection therewith, and does not exceed in extent the area of the building itself. The operation of clause 7, imposing an extra graduated land tax of 25 per cent., has been postponed for a year. To clause 8 (“tax payable by absentee”), a new sub-clause has been added, providing that the section shall not apply to companies, but shall apply to shareholders in companies, m accordance with section 11. The provision in clause 10, making the lessee liable as if an owner for his leasehold as well as his freehold property, for the purpose of assessing Ins rate of taxation has been amended by' excluding from the operation of this provision leases where the leaseholder has not had. any ownership in the land for the previous five years. .Clause 11, which provides for a shareholder in a company paying land tax as a shareholder, and also adds on his interest in the company to the land he owns in severalty, has been modified—make it clear that he is only liable for land tax and graduated tax on his severalty interest plus his interest- as a shareholder in the company. An important amendment has been ■ made in clause 16, which provides •- that the seller of land is deemed to be the owner for taxation purposes until a fourth of the purchase money is paid. The one-fourth of the purchase money has been altered to 15 per cent. A new clause (21a) provides that for the purposes of the Act all standing timber shall be assessed ■ at half its value and no more, and the liability of all persons for graduated land tax shall be determined accordingly. The increase of 25 per cent, provided for in section 7 is not to be added to any land tax payable in respect of standing timber. This section shall commence to take effect in respect of land tax payable for the year commencing Ist April, 1907. In. clause 22 there is an important amendment. This clause provides that minerals, timber, and flax shall not l>e assessed for land tax, whether ordinary or graduated, but the income the person derives from the minerals, timber, and flax should be taxed. The clause has been amended by cutting out timber and flax from its provisions. Flax remaiiis_ as in the existing law. Its value is added on to the unimproved value of the land. Timber it is now proposed shall be dealt with in tbe same way, but only up to 50 per cent, .of’the value of the standing timber. At present tile whole of the timber is - dealt with. This is regarded as a big concession. An amendment has been made in regard to dealing with minerals on land. The term “minerals”-has been widened to include gravel, sand, and precious stones. _ Thus, for instance, if a person derives an income from sand or gravel on his land that income will be liable to taxation. Tho committee lias also struck out that paragraph of clause 23 which einiHed the Commissioner to compel any person to give any information in his power about any other person’s land, income, property, or assessment, this was considered an unduly inquisitorial provision. The schedule of the Bill has not been altered. The promise made in the Financial Statement to put homestead sites -on an equal footing with business premises has not. been carried out, owing to tile difficulty of drafting a clause dealing with the matter.