DEATH DUTIES A BURDEN ON REALTY 119 



Deduct the following payments from Imperial taxation 



Licenses and Probate Duty 4,272,502 



*Residue of Customs and Excise Duties. . 1,035,771 

 Contribution out of Local Taxation 

 Account in respect of police pay, 



clothing and pensions 1,022,211 



Treasury subventions and payments .. 1,782,333 



Other receipts 3,946 



8,116,763 



Leaving a balance raised by local taxa- 

 tion on real property .. 16,692,531 



9. It must, however, be remembered that the sum of 8,116,763 

 is taken from the general Imperial Purse, to which all classes 

 of income, including real property, alike contribute, and that the 

 great and increasing mass of personalty pays nothing in aid of 

 local rates. 



10. We are aware of the contention that railways are assessed 

 for local rates, and that personalty is thus to some extent included. 



11. The following figures clearly exhibit the inequality of 

 taxation of w T hich we complain. It appears by official Income 

 Tax tables that the gross values assessed were in the United 

 Kingdom : 



Year. Land. Houses. All other property. 







1873 . . . . 65,513,977 . . 89,456,746 . . 358,836,561 



1893 . . . . 56,969,940 . . 144,922,326 . . 510,288,833 



Increase -f or 



Decrease- -8,544,037 .. +55,465,580 ..+151,452,272 



Agricultural Land is depreciating year by year. 



Houses are gradually increasing in value owing to the necessity 

 of housing an increasing population. 



All other property is rapidly mounting in value, and already 

 exceeds the value of land in the proportion of nearly 10 to 1. 



12. The extent to which agricultural land is unfairly assessed 

 to local rates in comparison with house property is admittedly 

 a less simple question, but the broad facts of the case can hardly 

 be disputed. A concrete example will fairly illustrate the 

 position : 



A., a yeoman farmer, owns and occupies land, 

 house and premises, rateable value 300 per 

 annum, paying the average rural rate of 2s. 3d., 

 his rates amount to 33 15 



B., a tradesman, having a capital equal to that 

 possessed by A., owns and occupies shop, house 

 and premises, rateable value 30 per annum, 

 paying the average urban rate of 4s., his rates 

 amount to 600 



* This amount is applied almost exclusively to an entirely new 

 purpose, viz., provision of technical education. 



