LAND TAXATION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9584, 2 September 1909, Page 5

LAND TAXATION.

VICTORIAN PROPOSALS. CLOSER SETTLEMENT DESIRED. By United Press Assoc union—Electric Telegraph Copyright. Received September 1, 11.40 a.m. MELBOURNE, September 1. In the Legislative Assembly, the Treasurer introduced land taxation proposals which provide for the levying of a tax of a halfpenny in the pound on estates whose unimproved value ranges from £SOO to £2,500, three farthings up to £5,000, a penny up to £IO,OOO, and proportionately increasing to twopence in the pound where the value is £50,00, and threepence on estates above £BO,OOO. The Treasurer, in moving the second reading, said the main objects of the Bill were:—Firstly, the extension of agricultural settlement; and. secondly, to meet an expected shortage of Customs returns from the Commonwealth. It was proposed to break up larg& estates by a steady decrease; the reason for exemption up to £SOO was conditional by a desire to see closer settlement. ! At present, said the Treasurer, there were 405 estates m Victoria* each over £25,000 in capital' value. There were 45 men holding 1,29<5»00C acres of a value of £7,153,000,, Owing to the scarcity of land for settlement, the Government had found a difficulty in keeping the people. During the past 27 years Victoria hadflost over 12,000 by excess of emigration over immigration. He expected the tax to yield £318,000 annually, including cjjg* present land tax, Hq pF6pbsed to earmark £50,000 annually fo* £6* duction of railway freights construction of country railways, Mr Prendergast indicated that the Labour Party would support fthe tax.