THE PROPERTY TAX

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume II, Issue 152, 3 September 1880, Page 3

THE PROPERTY TAX

The time for sending in returns under the Property Assessment Act, which, under the former notification, expired on the 31st August, is to be extended a month, namely to the 30th September. It is necessary to explain that on the reduction of the beer duty by one-half in Committee of the House, the G eminent decided not to proceed with . xeir Property Assessment Act Amendment Bill, which extended the exemption from property tax to all personal effects, as this would involve a loss of L 40.000 to the revenue, which had been further decreased by a considerable sum through the rejection of the Succession Duties Bill in the Legislative Council. The Government therefore determined to abandon their first Amendment Bill and to introduce another in the Upper House, which merely substituted the new and greatly simplified schedule for the former elaborate and complex affair. The practical effect of this change will he, that owners of property will have to return only its net taxable value after themselves deducting all their debts and liabilities. This will probably remove much of the dislike hitherto entertained to the impost, although we doubt its ever becoming a generally popular measure.—Pont.