The proposed re-valuation of land in Ireland: a survey of its meaning, scope, and effect

Abstract

The clauses in the Finance Bill which provide for the general revaluation of all land in the United Kingdom should have for us in Ireland a special interest, which I fear has been absorbed or has disappeared in the discussion of other features of the Budget. On the general subject of valuation of land, there has been some desultory debate, chiefly dealing with the estimated cost of the process; but upon its special reference to Ireland, and the history, condition, and distribution of Irish land, there has hardly been a word of explanation or criticism. The Bill itself is evidence of this. Out of the 42 clauses, (occupying 41 pages of print), of Part I. of the Bill, there is not a line (except in regard to the method of appointing Referees) which differentiates Ireland from England in the matter of land taxes and valuation. Middlesex is for this purpose the same as Connemara, and the owner of houses or land in or near decaying Irish towns is subject to the same code of taxation as the ground landlord of Belgravia. It will be the purpose of this paper to comment, (as far as necessarily brief limits will allow) on the extent and nature of the process of valuation, the machinery proposed, its cost, and result, and to include some remarks on its probable accuracy, uniformity, and general expediency. If I refer to the special taxes or other features of the Budget, it will be only so far as they bear on the question of valuation.