Taxation in Nezv Zealand 21 



ber of taxpayers paying property tax was 26,327, or 4.3 per cent 

 of the population (exclusive of Maoris). In the year 1892-93 

 there were 12,360 persons paying land taxes and 3,448 paying 

 income taxes, making in all 15,808 taxpayers, or 2.5 per cent of 

 the population. In fact, the number of taxpayers was somewhat 

 less than this, since some persons paid both land and income taxes. 

 In the year 1889 there were 2,242 persons under the class "work- 

 ing storemen, mechanics, laborers, shepherds, etc.," who paid 

 in property taxes £4,053 ; in the year 1892-93 there were only 

 249 persons in this class, paying only £543 in land and income 

 taxes. In the year 1889 there were 3,156 persons in the class 

 "tradesmen, wholesale and retail shopkeepers, etc.," paying £14,- 

 721, and 8,611 persons in the class "graziers, sheepfarmers, etc.," 

 paying £81,544; in the year 1892-93 there were 1,809 persons in 

 the former class, paying £11,978, and 5,883 persons in the latter 

 class, paying £89,341. In the year 1889 the property tax yielded 

 £354,167; in the year 1892-93 the land and income tax yielded 

 £ 3 74,o88. 1 



The number of persons paying land and income taxes has in- 

 creased both absolutely and relatively since 1893, because of 

 more careful administration and because of the increase in wealth 

 of a considerable class of the people, formerly struggling farmers 

 and shopkeepers. In the year 1907-8 there were 28,991 persons 

 paying land taxes, out of 150,000 freeholders and 24,179 Crown 

 tenants. In the same year there were 10,420 persons paying in- 

 come taxes, making in all 40,411 taxpayers, or 4.3 per cent of the 

 population, paying in all £842,751. In the session of 1903 a re- 

 turn was laid before the House showing that out of 115,713 land- 

 holders only 15,864 paid any land tax at all, while of these 9,287 

 paid less than £5 apiece, so that by far the greater part of the 

 taxes were paid by 6,577 landholders. 2 The same condition pre- 

 vails at the present time. The number of persons paying direct 

 taxes is very small compared with the total population or with 

 the number of voters, and to this may be traced much of the 



1 Report by the Commissioner of Taxes, C. B. Crombie, July 28, 1893. 

 Year-book, 1893, p. 425. 



'Landholders and Land Tax, 1904 B. 20. 



269 



