coxlii 



(3) Extract from Mr. Gifen's article on '' Taxes on Land/ printed 



in his '^ Essays on Finance," 1st Series. 



" Clearly, if the phenomena of the last thirty years are about to be 

 repeated — and there is a reasonable chance that they will be, for there 

 is no sign of check to the growth of population or the increase of 

 machinery and inventions — it is much to be wished that a better 

 system should, if possible, be at work than has hitherto existed, for 

 securing to the nation a portion of the augmenting value of its soil. 

 The problem, however, is excessively difficult, and I doubt very much 

 whether Mr. Mill's own suggestion, which must be first considered, 

 will be found, as a general measure, to answer the purpose. It is in 

 effect a proposal to go straight to the end in view — that the State 

 should inquire at prescribed intervals what is the augmenting rental of 

 land, and make a charge upon the owners of some definite portion of 

 that augmentation. If there is no increase of rental due to general 

 causes, there will be no increase of tax, and owners who object will 

 have the opportunity of surrendering their estate on what Mr. Mill's 

 enemies must admit will be full compensation. One objection to this 

 proposal is that it is almost wholly novel in European countries, at 

 least where the art of taxation has been most carefully studied, and is 

 least of all fitted for a country in the circumstances of England. Mr, 

 Mill has apparently in view the ideal of the Fonder taxes on the conti- 

 nent, in which the process is for the State at a certain date to impose 

 a lump charge on the whole land of the country in proportion to its 

 estimated value, and then apportion this charge among the various 

 localities and parts of soil in the country, by a carefully arranged 

 Cadastre. But there is nothing more tedious in fact than the comple- 

 tion of a Cadastre, or unequal when it is completed. Even in France, 

 which has set the example in these Fonder taxes, the new Cadastre, 

 which was commenced forty years ago, was only completed the other 

 day, and while it was being put into operation the value of the whole 

 land subject to it was changing. It is hardly possible to imagine that 

 even if in England we could give that attention to the nice adjust- 

 ment of competing qualities of land or property, which could alone 

 make the basis of French direct taxes endurable, we should be content 

 to await the slow development of a pretentiously perfect, but really 

 imperfect, Cadastre for a period of 40 years. It is a still more fatal 

 objection that such taxes do not appear to draw. It is officially 

 estimated in France that the annual value of real property has increased 

 since 1821 from £64,000,000 to £160,000,000, which is quite com- 

 parable with the increase in England. But while the rates have 

 risen in England from about £10,000,000 to £17,000,000, the special 

 land tax of France has only risen from £11,720,000 to £12,280,000, 

 including the additional hundredths imposed for local purposes, as 

 well as the ' principal ' of the tax. The special tax of England is 

 thus more elastic and effective than the special tax of France, which 

 is proposed as a model. Besides, if these objections could be got over, 

 if it could be shown that an improved Cadastre is easily possible, 

 and is capable of frequent renewal, there would remain the objection 

 that such a tax, so imposed, might interfere with the enjoyment of 

 private pi'opei'ty in an inexpedient manner. It would bo very difficult 

 to re-assure individuals against the operations of the tax assessors. 



