Show fI he e BRITISH BRITIS CRISIS X XII ITHE THE LAND LANDLORD LORD AND THE PEOPLE I By FREDERIC FR DERIC J 3 HASKIN IO N July 10 Half of or all the theland laud land In England is owned by two thousand persons anti and more moro than half of oC all the million acres of England Wales Wale Scotland and Ireland Is owned by b 11 IWo five e thousand persons T r of all the land in ill the en entire entire entire tire kingdom kJ Is IB owned ow ed by b fewer than ten len thousand persons Of or the population lation lution of or million people only thousand farmers cultivate Jand which they own dukes own more than five million I acres acres the duke of Sutherland alone possessing l acres The dukes own approximately of all the land in Great Britain The farm farmers ers era who own O 1 their own land laud are few indeed and of or that thou thousand r I sand fewer fec than fifteen thousand own more than fifty acres the great ma majority m mit I possessing I holdings of less than J i five acres in extent Ana Anc according to British government statistics one third of or the people of are constantly on the verge of or starvation Tho landlords own the th country and until now they have ruled the t lo coun country countr try tr with no one to dispute their will They l have havo never ll er paid any taxes on their land The land laws Jaws and the revenue h laws ians have been framed al always always ways by b the landlords In the Interest of or tho the landlords Every ery political and social agency for centuries has been operating to to Increase the size of indi individual vidual holdings of land and to make makell 1 it IL more and more difficult for land to tobe be sold or for tor estates to be divided IIi vide II I The Budget was the first political p attempt to Interfere se seriously with tho he privileges of the land Jand landlords lords and an Its provision would be re reo regarded regarded in any other country countr as being almost to the point of or futility But the astonished landlords rose rosc en masse and declared that as a Socialist that his budget was and that its operations would destroy destro the British empire em pire and I send Its old nobility to the bowwows That tho the owner o of land should be he forced to pay pa a a tax upon ic lt was vasa a notion n so novel a proposition so preposterous rous rotis a crime crimo so con conscienceless that it seemed to bo be alto altogether I gother gether Impossible imposIble But the massed the commons was waa rejected by bythe bythe bythe the was pas made the chief chic issue In Ina ina a general election was approved at atthe the tho polls paIls and now is the law of Eng England ng land hind landIn hindIn In the United States Stales where a direct tax lax ta on tho the value alue of or land is a generally accepted and approved method of or raising taxes s by and for tho the several states It Is difficult to understand the British quarrel between landlords and I people In the first place England never nover has taxed land values alues The Tho rev re revenue I j derived from real known knon estate j jas j I as the rates is calculated at so much per r cent on the annual rent produced d byi b tho land Practically ca 11 all land IB la occupied hy by b tenants but In iii there he few instances where the tar lor jor occupies pies lila his own land ho pays pa 5 TAtes Upon n a fictitious annual rent generally representing an mal nal fraction of the true rout rent value In tho ease case of the Cardiff tailor shop made famous in a recent campaign It was wa shown that a tailor occupying j II eight hundred square yards of land j I paid rates ona on a rental valuation of I j while the Marquis of Bute who I Cardiff castle in tho me I ditto diate neighborhood paid for tor five hun bun hundred I dred thousand square yards on a rca ren renal tal al valuation of Because Lloyd Gcorge called attention to this enor enormous enormous enormous discrepancy he was accused hy by b he the th Conservative C ve press of oC calumny indof slandering the noble marquis of Bute His In referring to this tailor shop was denounced all aU allover allover over the country as ns proving his utter for his high position as the chancellor of the exchequer In every cv 1 Instance where land is rented the tenant or lessee must pay the he rates The owner of the land never nevor pays taxes on his own property properly This system was arranged by br tho the thop I peers p rs who arc are the principal land own owners owners ers era two hundred years ago when they U ey exchanged to King Wil I r I I J i I liam this money mone revenue re to bo ho paid by b their tenants in lieu of all service tenures and levies levieR of oC soldiers due duo to the tho crown from the peers under the tho th remaining rules of or the feudal system So much has been about the terrible socialistic features of this laud land tax it has haa been so often orten denounced and an so seldom explained that it is worth while to examine into Its pro provisions provisions visions in order to find out exactly what British land lords aro are crying about The new scheme schema of taxation IB If i t a complicated affair which at first can cab cah produce but little revenue but it itIs ItIs Its Is i s regarded as an entering wedge The principal proposals arc are threefold the Increment i duty dut the reversion duty dut and the undeveloped l d land landi dy p P PI NEW YORK July 15 William I Loeb Jr has had the O 0 K of President President I dent Taft and Colonel Roosevelt for forthe the tho t governorship of or New Nev Ne r York state aWe All Mr Loeb needs now is 15 the O 0 K Kf of o f the Republican state convention voters oters v Then he can con have Governor Hughes Job That Mr Loeb Is going to t o have havo some trouble getting the in indorsement in d of the Republican state committee ommittee c is guaranteed by some of the he t Roosevelt Republican machine leaders In the meantime Mr rr Loeb has had conferences with the tho president and former president and Is la busy bus collecting duties at the New NewYork NewYork York custom house searching re reo returned turned t travels trunks and getting himself unpopular with various so society society solety lety c folks who object strenuously to displaying d their garments over mer a ten acre a cre steamship wharf The first provides that In tho the fu future tore ture the Increase In the value of laud land l due to tho the efforts of society as asa asa a whole and in nowise to the In Industry industry industry or ingenuity of the owner shall hall s be regarded as unearned mere Increment Increment ment nent i and that 20 per cent or one fifth f of such Increase shall be paid to t o the treasury This tax taxIs Is to be paid only when the land Is sold or when it changes hands bands by reason of or orthe the he t death of the owner In case it itis itIs its is i s owned omed by b a corporation not to t o death duties then the tax is to bo be paid pard In 1914 and each seventh year ear thereafter t The phrase unearned in increment crement rement c may startle some conserve conserva conservative tive ire t Americans who are arc sensitive to the he t influence of but It must be remembered that in American states tates s every overy annual or biennial aa as s takes Into account for pur purposes ur poses of or annual taxation not only the unearned increment also the original value of the land If a farm arm in Missouri Is assessed at t a value of oC and Is la enhanced by improvements placed i laced upon it by b the and is ta I still sun further Increased by b be because because because cause of the building of a new rail fall railroad j I road the state of Missouri llIs would col collect collect I j lect l taxes on the total value including Including ing lag improvements made at tho ex cx expense pense 1 nSe of or the owner as well wen as the I unearned increment resulting from froni the advent of the railroad In Eng Bug land and l under the Budget taxation t no tax would be he l up upon upon on tho the original value nor up upon on n the Improvements tho the only thins thing would be that when the land was sold five years or fifty rIft years ears hence the government would take 20 per perc c cant nt of the unearned there Increment ment Jl I nt after allowing an exception of or orthe I the first 10 per cent increase to tho the owner tax free In a country where lend rarely is sold it is difficult to see how this tax would work worIc a hard hardship hardship hardship ship As AJ a matter of fact the Missouri farm would entirely escape taxation under the system for all purely agricultural land all land landworth landworth landworth worth less than an acre all nil property occupied by the tho owner as asa asa asa a home is excepted from taxation ab absolutely absolutely In other words the tax would be levied only upon the land lord owners of rented property of ot high value used for other than agri agricultural agricultural cultural purposes to which the com corn I j I j I has contributed d generously by increasing its value alue and from which under the old system no taxes could be collected So much muck for the so 50 socialistic socialistic increment duty The second feature the reversion duty Is a tax t L of or 10 per cent upon the value alue of the benefit accruing to land landowners landowners landowners owners from improvements made by ty the lessees at the expiration of leases of or longer than years duration In England whore where nearly all an improvements are made upon leased land it is not unusual for a landlord by the expiration of the lease to become possessed of buildings and antI other Improvements worth thousands nod and hundreds of thousands of dollars and even mil lull millions lions Icons of dollars for tor which he was in inno Inno inno no way wa responsible The government I wants 10 per cent of or the Increase In value of his property thus created The third feature Is the tax on un undeveloped undeveloped developed land a direct tax of a half hair halfpenny halfpenny penny in the pound a over 2 pOr Pl cent payable pa ablo annually the tho land to be reassessed every five years rears This is the only one of the tho land landI taxes which Is to the gen geri general general eral era practice of state stat taxation n In the United States Slates Strange to say sap it was wa waI tho the only objectionable feature of or ortho tho entire scheme Tho The landlords could stomach an Increment duty and a reversion duty in which they the were forced to give to the state a portion of the money moncy earned for or them by the community hut but they thoy re ye regarded regarded as a monstrous imposition the taxation of their Id Ic Ie land It was a blow aimed directly at tho the heart of the British aristocracy for forit forit forit it meant a tax on tho the game pro pre preserves pr serves The horrible suggestion was made that it might force some of ot the fhe game preserves to bo be be turned back Jack to the vulgar uses of oC agriculture In order that the land might come comae un under under der den the exceptions granted gra to farm farmlands farmlands farmlands lands Of course the government designed these taxes as much mitch to make largo large land holding unprofitable and there therefore therefore therefore fore to force a division of estates as it did to raise revenues In this respect it may mR be he said that the tho taxes were not boua bona fide revenue measures mea ures but were aimed to break up as far faras faras faras as possible the present land system The Tho Tories made the most of the tho argument against this abuse abuso of the taxing power but In the thu same breath they the clamored for a protective tariff t to tv protect their wheat fields against I the pauper wheat of America and Argentina As AB a matter of oC fact the now new land taxes are not nol revolutionary except in England In tIny the United States in Australia and In practically every civilized nation In the world The hue and cry Cly against tho the Budget came from a comparatively few people who live by b the labor labox of I tho the many and who had come to re regard rel regard I gard their inequitable and unjust privileges as being the rightful re reward reward ward of or superiority r I |