UNIMPROVED LANDS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4589, 23 July 1923, Page 4

UNIMPROVED LANDS.

PENALTIES UNDER 1910 ACT. the law explained. It. is not an unusual experience to find new legislation hastily condemned for want of knowledge of its operation and intention. An instance occurs in regard to the provision in tho Land and Income Tax Act, 1920, which imposes certain penalties in regard to land tax upon land which has not been improved. This provision is embodied in section 6 of the Act.

A southern paper quotes the case of a holder of 9000 acres of lowquality land, who, upon complaining to the Land and Income Tax Department that he was penalised under the clause stated above (whereas his land was incapable of carrying the improvement required), was notified that he would be relieved of such penalties. The paper added, “While this is not at all satisfactory to the property owners, it is a clear admission that the penalty has been imposed without, sufficient investigation being made." The position in regard to this new clearly set out to the Sheepowners*. Federation in an address by the Commissioner of Taxes last, week. The latter explained that the Department accepted the Valuation Department’s data in regard to the improvements effected. Every landowner (the law applied to all lands outside boroughs) had’ been given notice of assessment in cases where the figures showed that improvements were not in accordance with the requirements of the Act. Tt was then the duty of the taxpayer to write and state the facts of the case, and the appeal would be treated upon its merits. The law distinctly made provision for this appeal, and the notice of ment sets that out. What had transpired, therefore, in the case of the North Otago settler had been quite in accordance with the law. The Commissioner, at the conference mentioned above, said that he wished to give careful consideration to all cases in which owners were of opinion that their properties were sufficiently improved. The whole object of the provision in the Act was to avoid remission of taxation, and to impose additional land tax on land which was being held purely for speculative purposes and without improvements being effected.