1 8 J. E. Le Rossi gnol and IV. D. Stewart 



is seized or possessed of or entitled to any estate or interest in 

 land." 



"Unimproved value of any piece of land means the sum which 

 the owner's estate or interest therein, if unincumbered by any 

 mortgage or other charge thereon, and if no improvements ex- 

 isted on that particular piece of land, might be expected to realize 

 at the time of valuation if offered for sale on such reasonable 

 terms and conditions as a bona fide seller might be expected to 

 require." 



"Value of improvements means the sum by which the improve- 

 ments on an owner's land increase its value; provided, that the 

 value of improvements shall in no case be deemed to be more 

 than the cost of such improvements estimated at the time of valu- 

 ation, exclusive of the cost of repairs and maintenance." 



The valuation of all the land and improvements in New Zea- 

 land was completed in 1898. The unimproved value was given 

 as £84,401,244, and the value of improvements £54,196,103. In 

 the year 1908 the unimproved value was £161,324,763 and the 

 value of improvements £92,115,409. The valuation is useful not 

 only as a basis for taxation but as a basis for the granting of loans 

 and as a guide to all who desire to ascertain for any purpose the 

 selling value of land. 1 However, the Advances to Settlers Office 

 has its own valuers, and the work of the valuation department 

 does not seem to be regarded as final, even by the government. 

 Certainly, private lenders and purchasers do not blindly follow 

 the government's valuation, but, on the contrary, the government 

 seems to have too closely followed market values. 



Of late years there has been a good deal of speculation in new 

 lands, and speculative values have in many cases run ahead of 

 permanent investment values, and the Valuation Department has 

 been accused of encouraging speculation by overvaluing the land. 

 In a recent debate in the House, Mr. T. Mackenzie said : "The 

 tendency of the department has in recent years been in the direc- 

 tion of unduly increasing the unimproved value and undervaluing 

 the improvements, which is entirely wrong, and against the spirit 



1 Year-book, 1908, sec. 20. 



266 



