LAND AND INCOME TAX.

Shannon News, 28 August 1923, Page 4

LAND AND INCOME TAX.

It is not an unusual, experience to find new legislation hastily condemned from want of knowledge of its operation and intention. An instance occurs in regard to the provision in the 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 9,000 acres of low-quality 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 im vestigation being made.'’ The position in regard to this new law was clearly set out to the Sheep- 1 owners' Federation in an address by the Commissioner of Taxes last Week. The latted 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 shewed that improvements were not in accordance with the requirements of the Act. It 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 assessment sets that out. What had transpired, therefore, in the caso of the North Otago settler had been quite in accordance with the law. The Commissioner, at tho 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. Tho 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 with out improvements being effected.