THE PREMIER AT AUCKLAND.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1851, 9 February 1889, Page 2

THE PREMIER AT AUCKLAND.

AUCKLAND, Feb. 6. The Premier, Sir Harry Atkinson, addressed a meeting of th® citizens of Auckland this evening in the City Hall, on the Property tax and its substitute, a Land and an Income tax. On Sir Hakrx Atkinson appearing, he was received with cheers, He thanked the audience for the >arge attendance, and the cordial reception given to him. He knew there was dissatisfaction in Auckland at the Property taj, and he had come up to remove it; to give his reasons for it as a fair and equitable tax, and to take counsel with them, and hear their reasons against it. He took it for granted that the £380,000 now raised by the Property tax would still have to bo raised in some way or othher, notwithstanding ail the retrenchment that had been made. It was to be regretted, and he regretted it, that so large an amount of taxation had to be borne by the people. No tax, he found was agreeable, and all that could be done was to adopt the least disagreeable tax. He thought he had got it in, the Property tax, believing in meeting the increased liabilities by direct taxation. At first he looked at the Income tax, but found it so harraasing, uncertain and difficult of collection, that be put it aside at once. He then looked at direct taxation as in America, end it was his investigations into it which lad ,him to propose the Property tax. The Property tax was only levied above the exemption, and on that property in every form which the taxpayer would leave behind him at death, and which would then be taxed by the State. The Income tax, on Ibe contrary demanded a slice of the means of the man every year, and without regard to his requirements. They could jndge which was the best method. But the advocates of the Income tax proposed to supplement it by a Land tax. Did they mean to tax the farmers of ihe colony on the unimproved value of their land, and then tax their income from it! He wanted to be cleat about that. . Speaking for himself, he would at once state that he would / be no party to a Land tax alone. He would not be a party to ruining the agricultural interests of the Colony, for he looked forward to the time when the State would hold the land. If (be farmers

were handicapped by a Land tax, they would be unable to compete in the markets of the world with nations winch had no Land tax. In South Australia they had a Land and Income tax, but the farmer who paid the Land tax was entitled to deduct the tax on the income derivable from it, and that was fair. In a few years in this Colony they would have wealthy men nmong them, spending their thousands in pictures and articles of luxury ; and under an Income and Land tai all such property would escape scot-free, whereas he thought it should bear taxation like any other form ' of v property. After giving a number of illustrations he continued ; It had been stated by Mr Moss, the member for Parnell, that not a Slate in America had a Property tax. He applied to the American Consul to ascertain it this statement was true, and the Consul said he could not be certain, but he believed that nearly every one of the States had a Properly tax. He next sent to America for the information, which was lately hid before the English Parliament. He now stated, on the authority of the Committee of the House of Commons, that the whole of the States, save Delaware, had a Property tax ; and in some States the tax was levied twice, first on the holder and then on the mortgagee ; while the incidence ofjtbe tax was heavier than in New Zealand, the tax being about £1 in £IOO. The following motion was carried “ That this meeting returns thanks to the Premier for his address, but records its most emphatic proteat against ■ a continuance of the Property tax, believing it to be inimical to the real interests and progress of the country, and urges its immediate repeal, it also urges that a tax on land values, excluding improvements, should be imposed in liea thereof.” "-The Premier replied, laughingly, that their orders, as he understood them, were that every money lender and capitalist in the Colony was to go scot-free, while the unfortunate farmers were to bo taxed. When he went South and told the people about these orders, they would simply laugh at them.