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:«__, y 8 wl O enc Sm e _ e o 0 0 0 o e . 1 00 > 1 Sn 1 @3 508 6 h * +T ; -- cppamer time for the House to recognize. "pared on a printed form, and endors Premiums on Idleness. 'edt by (;nmzicigalh Councils that did es { ot un stan i en ?,fi""',?i' Mr. Rowell\pointed out the m'ani" # 3;.'319 \\'h:ll: tcllling, s:lird Stit;'u?]ans)eusll:.?)l;:, #A fest unfairness of the present sya.iex;;{ templated the Introduction _ af" "the PR -- He cited a case\where a MATH m.]g." Henry George doctrine, and some of: "dh > buy land and let it lie idle. w 1} e the leaders were avowed Socialists S P Lg his neighbors improved t}}vn' pro-- who believed in the general distribu.'{ ' perty," thereby increasing . its value tion of "your property and mine." He! ' and the general prosperity of the did not believe in the whole l;anétlii community. These improvements also and breadth of the Province, coutside| increased the value of\the land lying of the large cities and towns, there| idle. The man who made the _ im-- were fifty school sections in the rural provements pays more taxes on them, districts that would carry the pro-- while the man who does nothing gets posal. It was altogether unfair to the benefit of them without paying say that a mechanic who owned a| for 'them. i plot of land and had his house unon. There was a good deal of land in it should pay the same taxes as a mil.-- northern Ontario owned by men who ;linnuin' next door, who, on the same would do a little work on it and thf'lnl | sized lot, had built a mansion. move away. 'Their neighbors wOUul $:3 z ssuc. . { come in and clear their land and in-- ?" pead Tssu« ' crease its value, and yet the taxation ) 'I'he_ Henry Qeorge theory was a for the work of the municipalities g(l('{!d issue to--day, according to the f was not borne by the people y hoese 1 Prime Minister, :x}\'(i of non--effect in land lies idic. ,«nh}n'nl comimunities. * | While the billsy might go to the Beneflit to Workers, ' special committee, it must be under--} "Rent to--day is a very serious item ishmf] that the (%_n\'orn\'x'w:nt did . not| F > e ( --the-- workingman | concede the prin' iple. So far as this in the '*le'g*l C VY i pa T4 | Government is concerned, I want m' who lives in the city, he: sal14. B say this; while we are here to use places a serious burden on him. C our judgment as to conserving and increasing the taxation on vacant land looking after the interests of the peo-- the building of houses would be en-- ple--while we are here we will ne\'ér couraged. "If you increase the sup-- give our consent to the piebald and ply of houses for rent, if you don't checker--board system of -- assessment & secure an actual reduction of rent which is the object of these bills. We f you will at least check the upward will never cousent that every muni-- movement of rents in Toronto." _ In-- cipality shall deal with assessment creased employment would result, The matters as it pleases." eultivation of-- land in 1\'-\\'.'l|9ttfl("l\' Maximum Exemption, \ would be c~]|;'<|?H'Hgl'd. and improve-- & 4 s & sto 3 ments on all kinds of property would Disclaiming any desire to secure be. encouraged. Such a measure Te-- ]mrt,\'_:ul\':tnmg'e out of the fact that elvine : aAxDrass j he Legislature his bill had preceded that ~of the ceiving expression in th S f y and applied to municipalities would leader of the OI'DUS'""F" Mr. Ellis greatly encourage industry and thrift, 1')4_m.ne«.l. out flmt thg ];rincilple in-- f and would. materially promote the volved was well known. A year ago Ar€ s ac ult ank t le it had been agreed that the time was prosperity and progress of the whol { 't+--siich --legigi Province. n'nt opportune ;u ftn.u.t such leg sla-- -- tion. Mr. Rowell's bill was differ-- Endorsed by Party Press, | vuv irom his in d"*t'nil_. although it covered the same principle. He had t had also been asked for by 1""']_' A\. ' introducedl his hbill in fulfillment of a ing newspgapers on both sides of I"f"' pre--election -- pledge. The difference ties. Conservative papers had criti-- between the two measures, however, cized the Primes Minister, and had szl§~l was that hbhis bill provided a maxXxi-- that the Prime Minister was the main mum ecxemption in any one year, obstacle to this legislation passing. while that of Mr. Rowell left the An QOttawa paver had time after time question to the ratepayers and left, ealled attention to this. "I hope they| the amount in the hands of the muni--| are mistaken in that, I hope the} + cipal Councils. If the entire doctrine| Prime Minister is not the obstacle to| of single tax was adopted at one it, and that the House, with his ap--| stroke it would defeat the object that proval, will give this bill its second| tax reformers had in view. yreading." | My. J. W. Johnson (West Hast-- "These bills now before the House| ings) quoted some -- assessments on are in the public interest, and if car--f land in Tovonto to show tlhat the un-- t¥ied into effect will encourage il'll"]US-'s earned increment was being taxed. ; iry and thrift in the Province. 'hey 5 f yel :"- m iH assist the toiling masses, and \\'ill! Checker--board System,. f be a great step forward in the dis'i * Mr. W. McDo:ald (Céntre Bruce) couraging of idleness." 1 referred to the present system of tax-- % Enonssltx Far Chalt®C ation as a "checker--board system." He No Necessity For Change. instanced _ three -- different cmn!ti('sl ' Hon. W.--J. Hanna urged that there | which had three different systems of ' was no necessity for a change in thol assessment. _ One assessor had lnld! present assessment _ law, and _ read| ' him that he assessed inmrm*emvn!sl from sub--section 2, section 3, of the | | on land at 1080 per cent. of their assessment act, which," referring . to| ) yvalue. Another -- said that he bo-' the assessment of buildings, said, "the": i dlieved in giving the farmer the bene-- value: of the building shall be |thei fit of the doubt, and assessed thpm} amount by which the value of the 1and1 { at 175 per cent. of their value. Stil } is increased." Mr: Hanna knew of ianother assessed them at only 50 per| ' no place in Ontario where the law 1S! [ cent. of; their yvalue. It 'would . be worke¢ out ])l'ul;(*l"'.\' where i!'ll]bl'(')\'l"--' hard to find two assessors in a rural > ments would be assessed for 1060 1191'§ | riding who assessed improvements on . cent. of their value. In many place® , the same principle. | they were assessed at only fifty per| | Speaking as a Town Clerk for se\'~,' cent., and some places at only twenty-- 'el'n] years, Mr. McDonald said: "\Vhat[ live per ceunt, of their value. Perhaps| 'we want in this Province is an hon-- somewhere some assessor might ;lp-! !*.s( attempt to readjust the usses-s.' preciate the value of this section,} !mmn law, so that inequalities of which was diametrically opposed to} raxation in -- municipalities _ will be ! l\\'hfll was contained in these two bills, | Im'cr(',«nn('. and the present system.s The proposition was quite new in | which virtually fines progressive citi--| this Province and elsewhere. It was |zens for improvements. is Superseded' one thing to introduce such a system | l'n\' an act which allows a largely re--| as this in a new Province, but it was| | duced assessment on -- all impi'ove-f quite ;m'uth(:r thing to_ (lisu)lm:e a sys--| ! ments." o | !"'m. "'_"?h ",af] been in MA2 mL ,1""_"\' l _ Mr. W.':C. Chambers (West Wel--} oxr .""3 years and mnm]uc'? zf.'}it.t-m | lington) said he did not think there "."'""". 4 oo oonee e dprorince * _0 | [ were six towns of less than 6.000 factorily in another Province. t | population in the Province _ which : A "Humbug." : | would yvote for such a 3-1y.-'tem uf'.laxa. y A t | tion as that pronosed in these bills. Mr. Hanna quoted from an article| en by Mr. F. C. Wade of Vancouver, Impuise to Building. who 1'eflelrrec.l1 to sixflgtl.!e:. :]a: a.»;lu "hqm-i Mr. T. R. Mayberry . (South Ox-- ug." He also referre o the rejec-- s n th c tha. arfay ) eb ean ':lil:ngl by the electors of Seattle |rc--| ford) pointed to the effect of exemp--| | | ! cently of the very two propositions| | which were now before the House. | 1 f | xo General Demand. ' : Sir James Whitney was not inciined / |to believe that there was a general 'Aemand for this principle of tax re-- ' form. _ He reiterated the view ex-- pressed to the recent delegation that several different views had been pre-} 4 sented. The petitions which the Gov.| ernment had received had hbeen pre--| . ' w ;l 4 " ,// ll |