THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 20, 1911. UNIMPROVED VALUES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10428, 20 September 1911, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 20, 1911. UNIMPROVED VALUES.

The ratepayers cf the Feather&ton County have refused' to avail themselves of the rating powers conferred under the Rating Upon Unimproved Values Act, and this notwithstanding the fact that .surrounding Counties have adopted this form of rating. The, Feathersion ratepayers are probably aware that tihe term, "unimproved values" is entirely a, misnomer. In reality, there is no such, thing as rating upon unimproved values in this Dominion. The general imiprovements- upon a farm, -wnetiber building or otherwise, are addled to the value of the land, and

the itoiider lias to pay upon theni indirectly, if not directly. For instance, if a numlber of farmers ratu theni&eiLvc-s for a lean for the construction of roadls and bridges, to give access to their properties, the unimproved value of tllieir land is immediately jut up by the valuer. So also in the proximity of a township. , If houses are erected, and streets and footpaths formed, the unimproved value of allotments is immediately put up. Hence it is that the unimproved value system of rating is, j generally speaking, almost identical with the system of rating upon capital values. It may happen in some Counties that expensive country houses have been erected on comparatively small arenas of land. In such cases the operations of the system of unimproved rating Would result in a. reduction in taxation. The inequity of the application of such, a* principle wifll at once be apparent. An admirable illustration is afforded in the Featherston County. The "Longwood" estate, upon which stands the /country residence of His Excellency the Governor, has been cut up into nine small farmls. If the system of rating on unimproved values were in operation, the homestead would be exempt from; taxation, and the increased rate would be spread over the adjoining properties, which are obviously less able to bear it. In other words, the effect" of unimproved value rating would be to relieve the rich, man from taxation and to increase the burden of the poor man. There are so many large homesteads in the Feather'ston County, that if the incidence of taxation were imposed an the direction some people desire, the bwden of the small man would be immeasurably increased. Having in view, therefore, the justice of tine contention that men should contribute towards the cost of local and general government in proportion to .their ability to pay, on© cannot say that the ratepayers of Feathierston have- been ill-advised in rejecting the .proposal to rate upon ■unimproved values.