Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1911. EXCESSIVE LAND VALUES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10168, 18 February 1911, Page 4

Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1911. EXCESSIVE LAND VALUES.

There is ia growing feeling throughout New Zealand that the values placed upon land by the Government for taxation purposes are economically and fundamentally wrong. Everybody who knows anything of land values, admits that the prices •obtained during the last few years have been inflated by .abnormal markets, added to an earth hunger made 1 acute by the small area of Crown lands available for settlement. When one hears of £SO and £6O per acre being paid for rural properties for dairying, purposes, one is forced to the conclusion that .such fictitious prices cannot be maintained; And yet it is upon sales .such as these that Government vahiers, acting, no doubt, under instructions, havo made their assessments. From the point of view of the man who wishes to sell his land, or to raise money upon it, the excessive values may be excused. In ithe interests of the/permanent settler, however, nothing could be more harmful. The Government', in its greed for money and its desire to bolster up its security with the London Jew, hns displayed an anxiety to increase- tlio value* of land which is almost indecent. It is true that those who oouHttlor fclioir properties over-valued hnvo a right every three or four yours of lodging

an objection before the Assessment Court. The loss of time, expense and difficulties involved are, however, so great that few people avail themselves of this privilege. The Government itself, if it is honest, will instruct its valuers to make their assessments upon a more commonsense and economic basis than in the past. It is not fair to the Dominion, the owner, or the prospective settler, that values should be placed upon land which are out of all reason. It may not suit the book of 1 the Government to have it go forth that real estate has decreased in value. It will, however, be better for all concerned if the truth is at once admitted, and the world is given to know that our .securities have been unduly inflated, and 1 ithat we wish to return to normal.