Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-06-18
Most Public Men of
Landowning Class

son OF that fact.
An American who has no understanding
Of the system of taxation in Great Brit
ain might be surprised to learn that there
were as many as ia members of the
house Of commons included in what is
known as the land values taxation sroup,
which Is construed as practically sup
porting the single tax theory.
The wonderment will be abated when it
is understood that in Great Britain a
landowner pays no taxes. If the land is
improved and occupied. the tenant pays
taxes. or If it is improved and occupied
by the owner. then the owner pays taxes
because Of his status as an occupier, but
not because he Is owner. Waste agricul
tural land that is not used for anything
but raising pheasants and feeding deer
pays no taxes whatever. Unoccupied
building lots in the hearts of great cities
are classed as agricultural land and pay
nothing to the support either of the
municipality or the nation.
Take, for instance, a modern Office
building. The owner Of the building has
only leased the land from the landlord,
but neither the owner of the land nor
That privilege and duty is left to the
tenants and the tax assessor goes into
each Office in the building and levies
tax on the occupier thereof.
Il 4
In assessing direct taxes on real es-
tate no valuation is made Of the CAPT.
tai value, or mar
Capital Value ket value, of the
r,A n:aJ property. The tax
Not CoAslueleo. alton is based sole
ly on what is called the annual ratable
1ye In u-ho
pays 800 a month for an office room will
be assessed on the basis of $240 a year.
and in many places his tax will amount
to more than 500.
OF course, under the American system,
tenants also pay the taxes, but they do
it indirectly. There may be some value
in having the tenants to pay the tax d.
rectly. as it gives them a greater inter-
est in public expenditures, but the point
is that the owner is not called upon.
1t has been the effort Of the present
liberal government to shift the burden of
taxation as much as possible on to the
weather. class. and this is the reason
for the furious hatred of Mr.. Lloyd
George entertained by practically all of
endeavored to tax unimproved lands, but
has succeeded in greatly increasing the
income tax. How this was done and
what the results are will be treated in a
subsequent article.
There are many kinds of property in
Britain of which Americans know moth
ing. For instance, a landowner in a vii
lage has the sole right to appoint the
rector of the village church. This right
of appointing a clergyman to a living
is property. and Is termed an 'advow-
son." In practice many landowners,
when church rectorship becomes
vacant, put the living up at auction
and sell it to the highest bidder. Not
even the Archbishop of Canterbury has
the right to interfere with this sale.
Another instance of vested rights
which illustrates the power of property
in politics is
Barroom License that of a bar
Also Illustration. .,., 49,. 81, >;
censes are granted. for year only In
some parts of the United Kingdom, I'M
less the holder has fiagrantly violated
the excise laws his right to the renewal
of the license is considered property and
il for any reason that license Is re-
voked he must be compensated for the
loss Of his business.
Engiishmen who read of the advance