LAND TAX.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1809, 30 October 1888, Page 1

LAND TAX.

The remarks by the Melbourne Age on the subject of the incidence oftaxa* tion apply with equal force to this colony as they do to Victoria:—it must be admitted on all hands that the great bulk of the revenue received by the Government is derived from the workers of the community, through the Customhouse; and the land, on which should fall the greater part, if not the whole,cost of Government, gets off in most cases scot free. If there is one tax that is peculiarly democratic and just, it is a land tax; indeed, we find that political economists of all shades of opinion agree on this point. That the tax is only partially applied, may furnish a sound argument in favor of its extension, but it is quite value* less as a reason for, its repeal. The tax should rather be imposed on all land, in towns amelias in the country, and it should be.based, not on the area, but on the value, and improvements of every description should be exempt from taxation. If a piece of land in Melbourne is worth £5,000 or £50,000, there is no reason whatever why it should not be taxed the same as a piece of land of the same value in any other part of the country. As it is now, increase of population and the industry of the community is causing land throughout the colony’ to rapidly rise in value ; and yet the community, which creates the value, allows a few persons to collect and keep it.