The Queen's Taxes; An Inquiry Into the Amount, Incidence and Economic Results, of the Taxation of the United Kingdom, Direct and Indirect (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1870 Excerpt: ...trade policy which was inaugurated, and indeed, rendered practicable, by the levy of direct taxation on income, including rent. It does not appear, from the returns since 1852, that the landowners have suffered in consequence of the change. The increased value of land in England and Wales is shown in the following table. Value of Lands Year. Assessed Increase Property and Income Tax Return, Sess. 1860, No. 592. t Ibid. J Tenth Inland Revenue Report, 1866, App. p. lx. The annual average increase for the 8 years ending 1864-5 being 653,310. The following are the returns for Scotland during the same periods: It appears, from these figures, that the increased rental of land in Scotland for the year 1864 compared with the year 1852, was 1,331,235, or 24 per cent.; while, in England and Wales, the increase during the same period was 5,317,168, or about 12f per cent. An enquiry into the conditions under which the practice of agriculture exists in England, as compared with Scotland, will no doubt demonstrate that the growth of rent in the latter portion of the island has been stimulated because superior security is afforded to capital invested in agriculture. A very competent authority says, t in reference to the system of yearly tenancy, so largely prevalent in England, "I feel perfectly amazed that public policy should permit such a state of matters to continue. In Scotland no such difficulty is felt, and even on the most strictly entailed estates, leases for 19 and 21 years are universal. There is not a doubt that this fact has had much to do in placing Scotch Agriculture in the high position it at present holds, and that it has enabled Scotch farmers to pay rents higher in amount than is obtained for naturally richer soils in the more geni...