1015. Deduction from Rent.-Every tenant who is called upon to pay land tax, is authorized to deduct the amount from the rent payable by him which is next accruing; but,

1016. Waiver of Deduction.-The usual authority of a tenant to deduct land tax from rent does not apply where the tenant has agreed to pay "all rates and taxes" (").

1017. Foreign Ministers.-Assessments of land tax on the houses occupied by foreign diplomatic ministers (as the tenants cannot be taxed) are expressly payable by the landlords.

1018. Unoccupied Lands.-Where lands or houses usually assessable to land tax are for the time being unoccupied, and no distress can be found on them, the district in which they are situated is forced to make good the stipulated amount, irrespective of such unoccupied lands or houses.

1019. Woodlands.-Where woodlands are liable for land tax, and no person can be found to pay it, the collectors, by warrant of two of the commissioners of the division, may cut and sell so much of the wood (timber trees excepted) as shall be sufficient to pay the tax and costs.

EXTRAS.

1020. Annuities.—All incomes arising from land, whether drawn by a life tenant as rent, or charged in any way upon land as an annuity, are assessable for land tax in their respective proportions; and

1021. Tithes, Tolls, and Fisheries. — Tithes, tolls, profits of markets, fairs, fisheries, or other annual profits derived from land, are liable to land tax; hence,

1022. Power to Seize. - Collectors of land tax have power to seize a sufficient proportion of tithes, tolls, or other like income, unless the recipients of such income duly pay the tax.

1023. Catholics.-Formerly Catholics were required to pay double land tax, but that law has been long since abolished; yet,

1024. Consequent Anomaly.—There are instances still remaining where land, which was formerly charged double land tax under the law against Catholics, continues to pay, year after year, the like amount, the persons paying the tax not knowing the circumstances; for,

1025. Lack of Information.-There is, naturally enough, nothing in connection with the law upon which the generality of people are less informed than land tax.

1026. Metropolitan Waterworks. · Shareholders in the New River, or in the Thames, Marylebone, or Hampstead Waterworks,

(a) See "Landlord and Tenant."

are liable to pay land tax in the full original proportion of four shillings in the pound (973).

1027. Fire Insurance Companies.-The income derived from shares in Fire Insurance companies (as arising from land) is liable to a land tax of four shillings in the pound (973).

1028. London Companies.-All companies of merchants in London, and the Bank of England, are liable upon their incomes thence derived to pay the full land tax at the rate of four shillings (973). 1029. Post Office and Excise.-All salaries and pensions payable at the General Post Office and Excise Office, are liable to deductions in respect of land tax, at the full rate of four shillings (973).

1030. Government Incomes.—All persons in receipt of ordinary salaries or pensions from government are liable to the full deduction of four shillings in the pound (973) in respect of land tax; but,

EXEMPTIONS.

1031. By Special Proviso.-Salaries or pensions conferred with an express proviso to that effect, are exempt from land tax.

1032. Little Plots. Every separate piece of land, not worth twenty shillings a year, is exempt from land tax.

1033. Universities and Colleges.-Colleges or halls in either of the universities or colleges of Oxford, Cambridge, Windsor, Eton, Winton, and Westminster, are exempt from land tax.

1034. Widows of Clergymen.-The corporation of the governors of the charity for the relief of the poor widows and children of clergymen is exempt from land tax.

1035. Hospitals.-All hospitals in England, Wales, and Berwicktpon-Tweed are exempt from land tax.

1036. Masters and Fellows.-Masters and fellows of the exempted colleges and schools are not liable for land tax in respect of their incomes derived from such colleges and schools; but,

1037. Alms-Houses.-Tenants of hospitals or alms-houses, who may be otherwise liable to land tax, are not exempt by reason of being such tenants; and

1038. Exception.-Lands belonging to colleges, schools, hospitals, or alms-houses, in the occupation of tenants paying rent, are not exempt from land tax, which in such cases should be paid by the tenant and deducted from the rent (1015), unless there be an agreement not to deduct (1016).

1039. Various Exemptions.—Various persons and subjects are declared entitled to exemption from land tax; as follows:

1040. Naval Service.-The pensions of superannuated commis

sioned or warrant sea officers, and of widows of sea officers slain in the service of the Crown, and of officers for their services or sufferings in the royal navy, and of the widows or children of such officers, granted for the merits of their husbands or parents;

1041. Order of the Garter and Knights of Windsor.—The revenue of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and the pensions of the Poor Knights of Windsor, payable out of the Exchequer only ;

1042. Under Special Acts.-Sums directed by an Act of Parliament to be paid without deduction (1031);

1043. Cathedral Revenues.-The rents and revenues belonging to the residentiaries of cathedral churches in England and Wales, where the surplus is applied for their maintenance, after deducting land tax, repairs, and other charges;

1044. Clergy of Isle of Man.-The pension of £100 a year granted in the reign of Charles II. to the poor clergy of the Isle of Man. 1045. Pages of Honour.-The pensions or salaries of the royal pages of honour.

GRATUITOUS LENIENCY.

1046. With regard to the remission of land tax in respect of salaries and pensions (1030), the law has been so freely interpreted in favour of the recipients, that whereas the amount collected formerly under that head, in London and Westminster alone, was nearly £50,000, the revenue from that source throughout the country at the present time is only from £4,000 to £5,000.

VAIN ATTEMPTS TO BE JUST.

1047. Attempts have been made from time to time to re-enforce the land tax upon salaries and pensions, as some relief for the districts where their collection would be most advantageous, especially in London and Westminster; but,

1048. Sweeping Revolution the only Remedy.-It appears pretty obvious that no slight change will suffice to adjust the extraordinary anomalies of the land tax; nothing but its entire re-adjustment upon new principles will or can be effectual, for it has been calculated by an eminent student of the subject that a strict carrying out of the original provisions of the land tax would result in a revenue of at least fifty millions, or considerably more than enough to defray the whole charge of the imperial government.

CROOKED PECULIARITIES.

1049. There are endless local peculiarities respecting land tax

which cannot be of any importance to the general reader, as each one only arises in its own peculiar instance or district.

OFFICIAL CONSCIENCES.

1050. Assessors and collectors of land tax, whether ignorant or not, will doubtless continue to draw all they can from every individual, not caring whether it is precisely right or entirely wrong, so as they secure the sum total for which their district is liable; for,

1051. Peculiar Consequences of Rectification.—The rectification of individual charges in respect of land tax is peculiar, because the alteration of one person's payment upsets the proportion of the whole district; for,

1052. Adjustment of Total.-If any person is adjudged to pay more land tax than he is justly liable to, the total amount being thereby increased to more than the specific total required, the rest have of course to pay less; while,

1053. Reasons against Successful Resistance.—Where an individual, particularly where doubly taxed (1023), succeeds in reducing his payment, the deficiency thence arising has to be spread over the whole remainder of the tax-payers of the district; hence,

1054. Official Trouble.-Land tax officials necessarily incur a peculiar degree of trouble upon every change in an individual assessment, and will consequently avoid as much as possible any interference with things as they are, whether right or wrong; on the other hand,

1055. Peculiar Interest in Adjustments.—Payers of land tax are peculiarly interested in frequent re-adjustments, and in seeing that all the persons of the district are paying in full, for an increase in the tax of one is inevitably a corresponding diminution in the tax of the others, a peculiarity which does not apply quite so uniformly to any other tax or rate.

REDEMPTION OF LAND TAX.

1056. Statutory Contradiction.-Though the Act 38 Geo. III. c. 60 declared the land tax perpetual, the same Act, by a contradiction of itself, made provision for its redemption; so that,

1057. Any Land may be Redeemed.-Any person, or body of persons, or trustees, holding or interested in any land subject to land tax, may redeem such land from such tax by complying with the conditions of the Act in that behalf.

APPLICATION TO COMMISSIONERS.

1058. In order to redeem land tax, application must be made

to the clerk of the commissioners of land tax for the division, who will see that the necessary forms are complied with.

1059. Cash Payment.-When the land tax to be redeemed does not exceed £25 per annum, it may be redeemed by the payment of a capital sum in cash, calculated after the manner of an annuity; but,

1060. Government Stock.-If the land tax exceeds £25 per annum it must be redeemed by means of the transfer to the commissioners of as much three per cent. government stock as will yield at least as much annually as the land tax to be redeemed.

1061. Option of Instalments.-The consideration given for redemption of land tax, whether it be cash or government stock, may be paid all at once, or in eight quarterly instalments extending over two years, with interest equal to the proportion of tax meanwhile otherwise payable.

FORM OF CONTRACT.

1062. The contract of redemption of land tax entered into by the commissioners prescribed by the Act is as follows:

Know all men that we, A B and CD, two of the Commissioners appointed for the purposes of an Act [title of Act] for the [name of the division] do hereby certify that we have contracted and agreed with E F, for the redemption by him of 200 land tax, being the land tax charged upon the [describe the property] being parcel of the land tax charged upon the parish of The consideration of the redemption is declared to be capital stock in the Bank Annuities to be transferred to the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt at the Bank of England in the following proportions, and at the following times; namely

stock

on or before the

with interest, to be paid at the time of the second and each subsequent instalment to the cashier or cashiers of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, equal to the amount of the land tax redeemed or purchased, deducting therefrom a sum bearing the same proportion to such land tax as the amount of the stock transferred before the time of each payment bears to the whole amount of stock agreed to be transferred on such contract. Signatures of Commissioners.

CERTIFICATE.

1063. Every duly executed contract for redemption of land tax serves the holder thereof as a certificate of redemption, for all time, subject to special conditions (1059, &c.).