88 GREAT BRITAIN AND IREI^AND - MISCEIvIyANEOUS 



monetary rights to fines and fees and adding the value of the lord's 

 minerals, if any, beneath the surface. 



In many manors the copyholders prefer to remain as such because an 

 enfranchisement would not be economic when compared with the continu- 

 ance of payment of fines and fees on death or alienation (such as sales). 

 But the Finance Act compels a deduction from estimated freehold value 

 of the estimated cost of enfranchisement in order to ascertain Total Value 

 and Assessable Site Value, thereby arriving in many cases at a Total 

 Value lowor than the price at which copyhold lands in fact realise on sale. 

 It would, therefore, appear to have been better if the Legislature had 

 enacted that Total Value should be the actual copyhold value. 



§ 4. AgriculturaIv land. 



The special consideration shown to agricultural land and land under 

 forest will be more apparent when the incidence of land values duties is 

 later dealt with, but so far as the provisions of the Original Valuation of 

 the Kingdom are concerned, some remarks are necessary. 



If reference is made to the definition of Assessable Site Value it will be 

 noticed that deductions from Total Value for the purpose of arriving at 

 Assessable Site Value are only allowed : 



(i) for works executed or capital expenditure incurred for the pur- 

 pose of improving the value of the land as building land or for any trade 

 or industry other than agriculture, and 



(2) For any works or capital expenditure incurred for the pur- 

 pose of agriculture but which have resulted in improving the value of the 

 land as building: land or for any trade or industry other than agriculture. 



This provision might appear to penalise rather than favour agricultural 

 land, but so long as land has no higher value than its market value for 

 agricultural purposes no Increment Value Duty is chargeable, nor is Undeve- 

 loped Land Duty chargeable except on the excess of Assessable Site Value 

 over Agriciiltural Value (including site, buildings, trees, etc.), nor is Rever- 

 sion Duty leviable on land when it is agricultural land. These duties are 

 hereafter explained. 



Hence inasmuch as the Finance Act so exempted agricultural lands and 

 was framed for the collection of duties, it confined the deductions to non- 

 agricultural improvements ; any inclusion of improvement deductions 

 would have been superfluous and by enlarging the scope of the deductions 

 would have retarded the work and increased the cost of the valuation. 



Further any such inclusion would have caused a distinct hardship to 

 owners of agricultural lauds when such lands became building land. If 

 the Assessable Site Value of some agricultural land be £1000, and agricul- 

 tural improvements such as land drainage and a farm road were deducted, 

 the Assessable Site Value might then be £600. In course of years the land 

 ceases to be in the category of agricultural land and becomes valuable for 

 building land and is sold for £5000. If the £5000 be compared with the 



