"ROTTEN RATING SYSTEM."

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 592, 14 December 1920, Page 2

"ROTTEN RATING SYSTEM."

IN PUKEKOHE BOROUGH.

PROGRESSIVA FARMERS PENALISED. Tl o following very trenchant anu onvineing letter in respect to the u pi>sai t;.at I'ukekone Boroug nouki rate on the unimproved valut. .. = u-m, as advocated by a leadin: .tide in a recent issue of tht runes,'' has come to hand, and w. •cmmend its perusal to all progressive agriculturalists in the borough.— "*'." and P. Times."

Sir,—Two cockies, started off wit ,j acres each of tip-top land. Eaci ad the same capital, billjim was . .iger for toil, didn't waste much tim rearing out blankets, all his paddock; ,veli fenced, crops in on time, hedge grown, and well trimmed, cows milk id and Billjim away to the factor when neighbouring cockies were hunt in? the cows in. Billjim was th; dandy farmer of the district. Whe. the neighbours, wanting to sell, hac a prospective buyer, they nlway trotted him along' to Billjim's t< show what the country could do. Bill jirr. was doing the greatest possibl good for his country. He was get ting maximum production. He was ; tip-top farmer, and his land was tin better for his farming. But, we an forgetting his neighbour, Jimbili Well, there is not much to say abou' Jimbili. The sun could always beat Jimbili by about three hours on th< "up in the morning early" business Fences—well, the wires must have been meant for sparrows to roost on for they would not keep cattle in o> cut. Jimbili always met bad sea sons.when the cows got in and settled "his young maize crop, it was the bad season; and the seasons always seemed to be a season ahead of Jim bill. Anyhow he was a darned poor cccky. Now I suppose you want tt I know what this has to do with rat ing jm unimproved value. Well,, PI split. _.„.. The joke is, the harder Billjim grafted, the more he improved his farm, the more produce he produced and sold, and with the cash derivec from his produce, the fine new house he built, the up-to-date cowshed anc barn, the spick-and-span fences-tht greater taxes he had to pay. Thai was the penalty for being an up-to-date, hard grafting farmer. This rating on capital value, is a rotten, inequitable tax—a tax on the thrifty a penalty on thrift and production Jimbili by reason of indifferent farm--1 ing, minimum production, poor building, slipshod fences, well, rating on 1 capital value didn't hurt him. How can any sane person advocate a system of rating such as rating on capI ital value—a rate which is a direct ' tax on progress, production ano ! thrift; a rate which encourages-tht ■ non-producing speculator. Whethei ' town or country the same argument 1 applies. Rating on unimproved value ' was first passed into law in 1896. Six 1 months later it is interesting to note • the most progressive inland town its • New Zealand, Palmerston North, car- ' ried rating on unimproved value bj • an overwhelming majority, 402 for, ; 12 against. Now, just take note of 1 other towns who were not long in fol--1 lowing Palmerston North's lead: In- • vercargill, Wellington, Pahiatua, Pic--1 ton, Stratford, Gisborne, Devonport, 1 Blenheim, Westport, Greymouth, Has--1 tings, Masterton, Mosgiel, Hokitika, ! Hamilton, Gore, Woodville, Feilding. ' Christchurch, Foxton, Sydenham, Eketahuna, Winton, • Waimate, all of which adopted the newer rating system prior to 1910. In only one instance has, rating on unimproved .value been rescinded, viz.: Castlepoint County. 'To the opponents of unimproved rating, it can'be fairly argued that Pukekohe has prospered in spite of capital value rating, and not because of it. Owners of unimproved lands generally argue that the rating on unimproved value will c luse a "drop in the price of unimproved ' sections. If this is so, it only proves ; the utter rotteness of a rating sys- • tern that encourages a fictitious ' value. Whilst the value of every product has risen, the fact rema-m ; that the actual productive value of unimproved land is no nioic to-day ! than a thousand years ago, and it is the productive /alue of surrounding 1 land that has created an unproduc- ' tive value to which the owner has contributed nothing. 0. HEERDEGEN.

Pukekohe. , December 10. 1920.