150 LOCAL TAXATION 



allotments. (An exemption has been made in respect of land 

 covered by glasshouses, and land occupied by the owner whose 

 total ownership is of less value than 500. ) 



11. It has been stated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer 

 that the probable area of land affected by the Undeveloped Land 

 Duty is from two to three million acres, and it was pointed out 

 to the Chamber that the development of the lesser area would 

 provide buildings for 200,000,000 persons, or nearly five times 

 the present population. 



12. The Committee have gone into this somewhat technical 

 calculation for the sole reason that the " unripe " area chargeable 

 with Undeveloped Land Tax Duty is, in fact, occupied, and will 

 be occupied during the annual payments of the duty, by farmers, 

 market gardeners and allotment holders. 



13. The tendency of any person who is taxed is to attempt 

 to pass on the tax to others, and if an owner feels that he is paying 

 an annual tax on land which it is admitted he is not " holding 

 up," and which the Government valuers admit is not ripe, and 

 w r ill not be ripe for many years, he will try to raise the rent of 

 the occupier of such land. 



The Chamber wishes to point out that it is a fact that there 

 is a marked rise in agricultural values, which has, in fact, raised 

 the rental value of agricultural land during the last few years 

 where farms have changed hands. It is not the custom, however, 

 of the large majority of owners to raise rents to sitting tenants, 

 but that a great many rents could, in fact, be raised is not disputed. 



Farmers, market gardeners and allotment holders naturally 

 object to any legislation which gives owners an excuse to raise 

 rents, thereby putting these new land taxes on their shoulders. 



The tendency of this class of legislation is to reduce the relation 

 of owner and occupier from a more or less sentimental basis- 

 to a commercial one, which the Chamber deplores. 



15. The Committee wish to point out the fallacy which under- 

 lies the Undeveloped Land Duty, viz. , that the theoretical market 

 value of a vast quantity of land theoretically sold at one and 

 the same time cannot be the same as the market prices resulting 

 from occasional sales of small blocks. 



If all the land valued for Undeveloped Land Duty were offered 

 for sale in one day the theoretical prices placed thereon could 

 not be obtained ; in fact, there would not be sufficient unemployed 

 capital available, and the sale would be abortive. 



16. There seems to be an impression that only ripe building 

 land will be taxed, and in the speeches of the Prime Minister he 

 has referred to this class of land only. The Committee feel they 

 have shown that the question of " unripe " land is very much 

 more important than the " ripe." 



17. In conclusion, your Committee wish to lay special stress 

 on the idea that the best possible use for land is to develop it 

 for building. , Originally, in the Bill this was assumed to be the 



