CHAPTER XXII. ASSESSED TAXES. SECTION I. TAXES ON LAND. THE land-tax dates from a very remote period. Long before industrial resources assumed a conspicuous place in the sum total of national wealth, the owners of the soil had an interest in the preservation of the country from foreign depredators, and from internal marauders, which demanded the armed force of a settled government to repress and to curb. In return for such protection, the landowner gave men for the militia and for war; but from such a duty he was released by the payment of a land tax, which was uniformly imposed during the reigns of Richard I., Henry II., and Charles, as well as during the Commonwealth. In the reign of William III. this tax was at the rate of 48. in the pound upon all real estate, hereditaments, offices, and pensions; but every city and county having been allowed to assess itself without almost any control upon their proceedings, the utmost irregularity prevailed in the assessment. Those in favour of the existing government were liberal in their valuation, but those hostile made no scruple in assessing themselves at the lowest possible amount. This tax, at the same rate of valuation as at first imposed, continued for a lengthened period to be annually voted by Parliament. In 1798 Mr. Pitt made the impost perpetual, leaving it optional, however, upon the landholder to redeem or purchase the tax upon transfer to the Government of a consideration to be estimated in each case at so much stock in 3 per cent. consols as would produce a dividend exceeding by one-tenth the amount of the land redeemed, the land to be valued at twenty years' purchase. In 1853 Mr. Gladstone gave further facilities for the redemption of the tax by reducing the price of redemption 17 per cent. Under these acts a considerable portion of the land tax was redeemed, and the amount now received little exceeds 1,000,000l. It will be observed that whatever remains of the old land tax is based on the valuations of land made as far back as 1692, a valuation wholly inapplicable to the present value of land.* Indeed, the burden has become so trivial as not to be *To show the complete fallacy of the rate of valuation of 1692, we may compare that rate with the present valuation of real property assessed to income tax in certain towns : considered worth the trouble of redemption. The land tax may be considered as merged in the property tax, and in our present financial system we should impose no tax which does not likewise bear on all classes of the community. The produce of the land tax within the last sixty years has been as follows: : A HOUSE tax is, in many respects, an equitable and convenient method of taxation. When first introduced in 1696 it consisted of 2s. for every inhabited house, and 4s. additional taken according to the number of windows. Subsequently the house and window tax were separated, and the house tax was thus charged in proportion to the rental of the house. After various changes and a temporary repeal, the house tax was again reinstated in 1851 at the rate of 6d. in the pound on every inhabited house worth the rent of 20l. a year or upwards, if occupied for the purposes of trade, or by a person licensed to retail beer, spirits, wines, or other liquors, or as a farm-house; and 9d. in the pound if occupied in any other manner. Under this tax, which extends to Great Britain only, there are taxed 128,000 shops or warehouses of the annual value of 6,100,000l.; 48,000 beer-houses of the annual value of 2,160,000l. ; 22,000 farm-houses, of the annual value of 516,000l.; and 307,000 dwellinghouses, of the annual value of 15,000,000l. The number of dwelling-houses thus charged forms but a small proportion of the number of houses in Great Britain, when we consider that in 1851 there were as many as 3,670,000 inhabited houses. The reason, however, is that by far the largest number of houses are under 207. rent, many of which are tenanted by persons who should not be exempted from a general system of taxation. The poor-rate is imposed upon houses of 61. rent, and the gross estimated rental in Parliamentary cities and boroughs in England and Wales, upon which the rate is made, was in 1856 31,000,000l., which, deducting 20 per cent., gave a rateable value of 26,000,000l. This was, however, exclusive of counties. Should even Iol. be taken as the limit for the house tax, the produce might, perhaps, be more than double the present amount. A considerable improvement is taking place in the habitations of the working classes, and extensive buildings, full of comfort, and exceedingly neat and cheerful, are erected for them at moderate rents. The tenants of these houses are skilful workmen, enjoying wages often as high as 27. to 37. a week; and as they are in most cases the most frugal and temperate among the working classes, they are at present the most lightly burdened tax-payers of the whole community. To bring these houses under the duty would fill up a gap in the present system of taxation. : SECTION III. TAXES ON SERVANTS. A TAX on servants was first established in 1777. At first the tax was uniform at 17. 18. upon every male servant, except those kept for agriculture. And with 5 per cent. additional imposed in 1783, so it continued till 1785. In that year, however, the tax was greatly extended and a difference was made in proportion to the number of servants kept. A person keeping one servant paid 17. 58. each; one keeping three or four servants paid 1l. 158. each; and a person keeping eleven servants and upwards paid 37. each. But another remarkable difference was made between bachelors and not bachelors, the former paying nearly double rates, on the supposition, perhaps, that servants in families are less a superfluity than with bachelors. For a little time a tax on female servants was also imposed in 1785, making the same difference between bachelors and not bachelors; but the tax was repealed in 1792. In 1803 taxes were first levied on persons having under and occasional gardeners; and on merchants and traders keeping travellers or riders, clerks, bookkeepers, |