History of New Zealand. Vol. III.
13. Land Tax
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13. Land Tax.
Land Tax is at the rate of 1d. in £1 on the value of land, less improvements and mortgages, after deducting an exemption of £500 on estates of an unimproved value of £1500 or under, and a gradually diminishing exemption up to £2500, when the exemption vanishes. (Mortgagees are taxed as if holders of land.)
Graduated Land Tax, in addition, on estates of an unimproved value (including mortgages) of £5000 or upwards. Rate of tax is graduated, commencing with ⅛ penny, and gradually increasing by eighths to a maximum of 2d. on properties valued at £210,000 or upwards. (Absentees pay 20 per cent. additional.)
| (a) Land Owners in New Zealand— | ||
| Percentage. | ||
| Paying tax | 12,360 | 13 ½ |
| Exempt from tax | 79,141 | 86 ½ |
| Total | 91,501* | 100 |
| Without improvements— | Acres. | Percentage. |
| Taxed | 48,480,000 | 53 |
| Exempt | 5,947,175 | 6 |
| 54,427,175 | 59 | |
| Improvements | 37,943,991 | 41 |
| Total | 92,371,166 | 100 |
(c) Land Tax Payable 1893–4—
| Ordinary | £202,000 |
| Graduated | 83,000 |
| Total | £285,000 |
– 452 –
| Per £100 revenue from Land and Income Taxes | £4 18 6 |
| Ordinary Land Tax. | Graduated Land Tax. | Income Tax. | ||||
| Designation. | No. of Payers. | Amount. | No. of Payers. | Amount. | No. of Payers. | Amount. |
| £ | £ | £ | ||||
| Professional — clergymen, lawyers, doctors, authors, editors, engineers, surveyors, and architects | 449 | 6,612 | 42 | 755 | 652 | 6,153 |
| Civil servants, officers of local bodies, teachers, &c. | 173 | 773 | 5 | 10 | 391 | 1,498 |
| Retired professional men, merchants, and others | 154 | 6,610 | 45 | 1,660 | 89 | 692 |
| Merchants, importers, warehousemen, contractors, &c.—firms | 92 | 2,603 | 22 | 243 | 111 | 8,383 |
| Merchants, importers, warehousemen, contractors, &c.—persons | 300 | 5,770 | 56 | 1,306 | 127 | 2,010 |
| Tradesmen, wholesale and retail shopkeepers, storekeepers, carriers, &c. | 1,251 | 6,182 | 41 | 204 | 558 | 5,592 |
| Working storemen, mechanics, labourers, shepherds, miners, sailors, &c. | 220 | 474 | 2 | 7 | 29 | 62 |
| Manufacturers, brewers, millers, founders, sawmillers, shipbuilders, &c. | 170 | 1,697 | 19 | 175 | 139 | 2,280 |
| Graziers, sheepfarmers, farmers, dairymen, &c. | 4,760 | 60,203 | 766 | 28,015 | 97 | 1,123 |
| Land, commission, or general agents, auctioneers, accountants, brokers, commercial and other managers, clerks, bookkeepers, master mariners | 397 | 4,220 | 35 | 323 | 914 | 6,112 |
| Widows, wives’ trustees, spinsters | 1,837 | 13,574 | 57 | 689 | 58 | 483 |
| Other trust estates and estates of deceased persons | ||||||
| 1,522 | 33,455 | 210 | 6,738 | 26 | 362 | |
| Absentees | 784 | 21,053 | 114 | 4,109 | 20 | 139 |
| Companies— | ||||||
| Banks | 6 | 4,596 | 6 | 2,512 | 4 | 3,076 |
| Life insurance | 6 | 6,771 | 6 | 446 | 8 | 4,573 |
| Loan | 30 | 26,567 | 14 | 2,700 | 15 | 1,656 |
| Land | 19 | 16,579 | 13 | 15,232 | 3 | 396 |
| Mercantile | 36 | 4,850 | 9 | 492 | 84 | 10,960 |
| Manufacturing | 23 | 1,832 | 8 | 463 | 44 | 5,254 |
| Manufacturing and mercantile | 15 | 1,495 | 5 | 791 | 21 | 3,336 |
| Mining (coal) | 6 | 92 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 1,325 |
| Mining (gold) | 23 | 2,735 | ||||
| Fire and marine insurance | 9 | 2,631 | 3 | 221 | 28 | 5,427 |
| Building societies | 37 | 1,968 | 1 | 19 | ||
| Church property— | ||||||
| Corporation and trusts | 64 | 1,974 | 10 | 762 | ||
| Totals | 12,360 | 232,581 | 1,491 | 67,880 | 3,448 | 73,627 |
* Equivalent to 53 per cent. of adult male population.
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