The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1892-12-31
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT
Progress in England.

l
10 the single tax agitation is now pend
ng in London. New members of the
London county council are soon to be
chosen. and the question of taxing
ground values, is the issue.
| At recent conference Lord Monks
we'll, who took the chair, explained the
situation regarding public improve
ments in the city, substantially as fol-
lows:
| The making OF public improvements
is not merely question of policy, it is
also question of money, because, TN
til the county council can get money by
taxation out of the landlords, they will
have to be more niggardly than they
like to be in forwarding London i'm
provements These improvements are
all for the benefit of the landlord, who
contributes very little towards them
The change proposed in the law is i'll
two directions First, the placing of n
separate tax on the value of land, rs
| distinguished from the value of build
ings- The first object had the sanction,
he believed, OF the entire liberal party,
and was n foremost plank in their plat
form. In the separate taxation OF
ground rents it would be quite impos-
sible for the landlord to put the screw
on the tenant or to shift the burden on
to him. Landlords would not on that
account be aeiy A>aise the rents the
effect would hey to lever them. In con-
clusion, he did not think it lay in the
mouths OF the dukes and other ground
landlords of London to talk about
| policy of confiscation.
This conference was he'd for promot-
ing the objects of an address issued last
autumn by the executive committee of
! "rhe United Committee for the Taxa
ton of Ground Values in London" of
which society Lord Monkswell Is pres
ldcnt, and Frederick Ncrinder is secre-
tary. The address is what in the
United States would be called a plat
form. 1t was issued in contemplation
OF the approaching county council cleo
ton. and it declares the principles
upon which the single tax men of Lon
don appeal for increased support Here
| is the text:
| The prominence now given to the de-
mand for the taxation of land values in
the programme of the liberal and radi-
cal party is at once n testimony to the
|
tee in the past and an incentive to in
creased exertions in the future To Sc
cure the ground which has already
teen won, and TO give greater definite
acss to the current proposals of reform,
much educational work, involving n
considerable expenditure, will be nee
sssary.
| Moreover. this question is becoming
more important, and more urgent than
ever in connection with almost every
department Of local government Re
cent legislation on the housing of the
! ,cople, supplemented by pressure from
] he government and from public opin-
! on, is tending to increase the cxpendi-
lures of local bodies for sanitary pur-
poses The demands for better schools,
better education, public libraries, baths,
"ash-houscs open spaces and the like,
are increasing the amount and aggra-
rating the burden of the rates Mean
while, the increased value which all
| hcsc public improvements confer upon
The land OF the towns goes into the
pockets OF the landlords, who, as the
landlords, contributes nothing directly
% the rates by whose expenditures
hey are so largely benefited.
| The London county council has re-
fused to proceed with some of its more
.oStly improvement schemes until it
shall have the power to rate ground
landlords to their cost. Every local
b ody has to face a similar difficulty; and
40 doubt many OF them, failing a reform
1f the incidence of local taxation, will
follow the example OF the London
county council
Either the most urgent public i'm
proycments must be neglected. or the
burden of their cost must be added to
The already unjust burdens of the oc-
.upier; or the reform advocated by this
committee must be adopted by parlia-
ncnt
This was signed on behalf OF the ex-
ecutive committee by Lord Montswell,
]. T. Torr j. Fletcher Moulton and
| Frederick Verinder.
A pamphlet recently Published by
William Saunders, a mcmber of the
London county council, and lately a
nemter of parliament describes the
agitation which led up to the address.
The issue-as he states twas this:
builders or occupicrs of premises
have to pay rates; the value OF land
created by the expenditure of rates
goes to the ground landlord 1t is con-
tended that the ground landlord
who obtains the value, should contrib
ute to the rates by which the value is
created" This proposal is called the
taxation OF ground values When the
county council was elected, the ques-
lion OF taxing ground values excited
great interest, and while it was admit
led that the council had no control
over the methods of rating, that author
ity resting in parliament, it was in
sisted that when recommending OK
penditures for city improvements it
was the duty of the council to suggest
methods for raising funds The agita-
ion began, however, long before
he election of the first county council.
It was caused by the rapid increase in
tents and rates between 1868 and
1890, and the question was first
-aised in the report OF the royal
commission on the housing of the work
ng classes This report showed that.
though the capital value of available
building land was very great, it pro-
3uccd but n small return until let for
building, and that it was rated for tax
ition not in proportion TO its real value,
which was high, but TO the actual in
ZONE which until let for building was
very low. That enabled the owners, so
hc royal commission reported, to keep
tbr l,rd c,,f ~ rl,af op1 to