Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, APRIL. 6, 1880. THE LANDITAX.

Manawatu Herald, Volume II, Issue 64, 6 April 1880, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, APRIL. 6, 1880. THE LANDITAX.

■■■— » Our readers mil doubtless have noticed with some surprise an advertisement appealing in several recent issues of this journal, signed by the Deputy Land Tax Commissioner, to the effect that " the Land Tax for the Manawatu district will be payable to the Postmaster, Palmerston, on and after the first April, 1880." The instalment now payable is for the six months ending 30th June of the current year. By "The Land ! Tax Act, 1878," it was provided that the tax was to be collected halfyearly, viz., on the first of April and October in each year. It will be remembered that owing to the delay which occurred in getting the machinery of the tax into operation, the two instalments for 1879 were collected together towards the close of the year. Many hoped that as the Property Tax was determined on last session of Parliament, they had heard the last of the Land Tax. These hopes have proved futile, and they are now called upon to pay the instalment for the first half of the present year. To this course we desire to take very strong exception, as we believe it will result in a grave injustice being perpetrated towards those who are affected by the Land Tax. It will be remembered that during last session Parliament decided on a general Property Tax, to be levied on all kinds of property, in place of the Land Tax, which was an impost on only one class of property ; the Land Tax, in fact, was " merged " in the Property Tax. As a consequence, the Land Tax Act was repealed, but a special clause was inserted in the Property Tax Act, providing that the repeal of the Land Tax Act should not come into operation till some day "after the 81st day of March, 1880," the exact date to be fixed by the Governor by proclamation. At the same time, it was also provided that the Property Tax should come into operation on the first of April, and therefore any levy to be made under that tax, will be for the year beginning on Thursday last. As, therefore, the Land Tax will be collected for the halfyear ending the 31st of June, it is apparent that for the quarter beginning on the first of April and ending on the thirtieth of June, both the Land Tax and the Property Tax will be levied. In other words, every person owning land of the value of over £500, will be called upon to pay for all he owns over that amount two taxes for one quarter of a year. This is taxation with a vengeance, and will cause an outcry from end to end of the Colony ; in fact, already loud complaints are heard from various parts against the -unfairness of it, as unduly pressing upon the farmers, who are " the bone and sinew " of of the country. The view we take is, that on the day when the Property Tax began, the Land Tax should have ceased. What the intention of Parliament was on the subject, we are unable to ascertain. We have looked carefully through Hansard, and are unable to see anything on the point, but we can hardly believe the Legislature I intended to burden owners of land with two taxes during one quarter of the year. The provision that the repeal of the Land Tax Act was not to take effect till after the 81st of March, seems to imply that Parliament intended the Land Tax for the first quarter of the ,year to be collected, but on the other hand there is the fact that the law distinctly provides that the tax is. to be collected halfyearly. It is therefore difficult to arrive at an exact estimate of the proa and cons of the matter. Certainly, in its present financial condition, the Colony cannot afford to lose a quarters instalment of the Land Tax. Nevertheless, our financial burdens would not justify a double levy upon one class of the community. Some may suppose that because the Property Tax will not be levied until August or September of the current year, we are referring to a matter of of small importance. Any such view is quite erroneous, for whenever the Property Tax is levied, it will be for the year beginning On the first day of April instant* Dou (less matters

are so far advanced that it is now too late to think of collecting only a quarter's instalment of the Property Tax, even if the Government had the power to do so, which we think they have not. A suggestion made hy the Canterbury Press might, however, he adopted with advantage, viz., that the Land Tax collected for the three months ending June 80th should be allowed as a set-off against the Property Tax to be levied for the same period. This would be literally carrying out the Land Tax Act, and would prevent the grave injustice that would be inflicted upon landowners by levying two concurrent taxes for three mouths of the year. An Act of Parliament about four lines in length, embodying our contempo- ' rary's suggestion, would remove the unfairness of which landowners may justly complain if the two taxes are levied. As Parliament will meet in a few weeks, there will be ample time to put this important matter on a proper footing before the Property Tax is levied.