LAND VALUES TAXATION.
pro TUB EDITOR 01 THE " SFICCTATOR,1 SIR,—Following Mr. Pine's demonstration (Spectator, Decem- ber 19th, 1908) of the absurdity of making land, as property, sable to special taxation because varying local conditions increase its annual value, although Income-tax is payable on such increase, when in possession, may I point out that there is hardly any class of investment which does 'not equally rise or fall in annual value through causes entirely outside any effort on the part of its owners P Let me give an instance. A good many years ago a well-known. firm of thread manu- facturers turned their business into a company and offered shares to the public at par. I secured a certain number of those shares. They now stand at about 250, and although neither I nor any other holder has done anything whatever to bring about this result we have the benefit of it in increased income (on Which, of course, we pay Income-tax) and could Pocket the capital profit any time on .realisation. But there is no proposal before Parliament to make us (and the many thousands of others in like case over other undertakings) pay any increased taxation. On the other hand, a friend of mine the other day bought ground-rents to pay him 31 per cent. (about' the Market price),• Mr. Hemmerde would put a special tux upon him because the land be bought had not long ago only an agricultural Value. The thing is really grotesquely
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