Mr. Goschen has declined to alter the incidence of local
taxa- tion as regards the kind of property to be taxed, believing the land to be not unfairly burdened. He, however, proposes that, subject always to existing leases, rates henceforth shall be divided between owner and occupier, future agreements to the contrary being invalid. He also subjects all the exempted properties, Crown property, charitable property, metalliferous mines, and game to the rates, and finally resigns to the ratepayers the whole of the house duty, yielding £1,200,000 a year. We calculate that he relieves the ratepayers as a body at the expense of the Treasury, of the charities, and of the mining properties to the extent of about 10 per cent. upon the total of local taxation. This will sweeten the Bill, but the Squires will probably snuff danger in the Finan- cial Boards, in the division of rates, and in the surrender of a tax like that on houses, so much more felt in cities than in villages, owing to the higher assessments.
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