The Daily News TUESDAY, MARCH 6. LAND VALUATION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8060, 6 March 1906, Page 2

The Daily News TUESDAY , MARCH 6. LAND VALUATION.

Oxe of the principal sources of con- a tention between property owners and the (foveruniont at the present time } is the cpiostion of land values, pir- J tieulaily the. ve-vaUwlimis that, are i taking place at the present, time. For in-fcmce, Mr Masscy, the Leader of t ho Opposition, has just ueeived notice that the valuation of his farm has been increased by £BS 78. The special correspondent if the Wellington "Post" at Auckland, in forwarding this intelligence, pertinently inquires " Have the valuers hitherto not been doing their luty to the State, has there been an abnormal increase of land values at Mangere, or is theie a political significance in this drastic action of the Department ?" It would be absurd 0 contend that there was any politisal significance attaching to Mr Massey's valuations, but r.evertbeless there must be some justification •or the increase, which is only on a ] xir with the experience of most landowners' revaluations this year. Ihe '' Post 'interviewed a number of prominent land agents and valuers iu Wellington on the subject, and their views, as expressed by our contemporary, are interesting, in so far as they hold that the valuations assessed by the Government are justified. Land which a few years ago in Wellington province could be purchased at £8 per acre, is in demand to-day at from X' 22 to £24 per acre. An important point to be remembered , when considering the new values is that three years ago land was value 1 by the Department at something i under market value. Now the valuers " mako no bones" about stating that their instructions are to make the valuations on the full ainrket value. A well-known valuer said that the low valuations for land-

tax pin-poses during the past tlireo years must have been revealed to the government by the actual sales lodged in the Laud Transfer Department. The Government would naturally want to know what was the matter with the valuations when they were so much under the actual selling value of the properties The valuers throughout the colony have bund a difficulty in explaining this, md consequently each of tliero in thoir respective districts has been -riving special attention to the question. Practically the whole of the valuations of the colony aie undergoing review by valuers, with the ■•esult, that almost evei/y owner has to face a largely increase 1 va'u iti-r.i of his property, 'Vnother lai.d a c G.i*, himself thus : '-ikuiw of 110 cas<j ill which the increi-0.l valuation is not considecab'y bss tliau. the a;tual selling value of the piup.n-ty ; hence the valuers must b;< held to be justified in the alvanees have made on the o'd valuations." It will be interesting to watch the results of the valuers'labors in Taranaki, If ths general valuations are to be based on the abnormal prices brought by simc sections in vario.is p.u-ts oi the district, there will be aroused -m.:h an outburst of inlignalion as

ujver tafoio was iiovonuuuiib assailed with. In this province, at least, the altogether Jictioions prices (litiil for soiiiu farms, are in not the slightest decree consistent with the producing value of the laud, nor do they represent the real selling value •>f the land in general. Actual selling prices, in districts whore the artifices of the " lx>oui " promoter have been it work, shoull never form the basis of valuation for the purpose of taxation un the whole of the adjacent | district. The circumstances of every ' vim should be consider; 1, and dealt' with, on its merits. j