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The Use of Land Value Taxation in New Zealand (1891 – 1991)

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The Use of Land Value Taxation in New Zealand (1891 – 1991) THE USE OF LAND VALUE TAXATION IN NEW ZEALAND (1891 – 1991) By Dylan Hobbs A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Accounting and Commercial Law, Victoria University of Wellington 2019 Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. v Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ vii List of Acronyms .......................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Design .................................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Research Questions ............................................................................................................. 3 1.3 Research Justification.......................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Thesis Structure ................................................................................................................... 7 1.5 Summary ............................................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 2: Background ............................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Background of New Zealand ............................................................................................ 11 2.1.1 Political Structure ....................................................................................................... 11 2.1.2 Settlement ................................................................................................................... 13 2.1.3 Economy .................................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Land Taxation Before 1891 .............................................................................................. 17 2.3 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 20 Chapter 3: Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 21 3.1 Origins of Land Value Taxation ....................................................................................... 21 3.2 Post George to the 1960s .................................................................................................. 25 3.3 Revival - 1960s onwards ................................................................................................... 27 3.3.1 Economic Impacts of Land Value Taxation ............................................................... 27 3.3.2 Equity and the Tax Burden ........................................................................................ 32 3.4 Previous Research Considering Land Taxation in New Zealand ...................................... 36 3.5 Historical Taxation Research ............................................................................................ 43 3.5.1 Historical Land Tax Research .................................................................................... 43 3.5.2 Historical New Zealand Tax Research ....................................................................... 50 3.6 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 51 Chapter 4: Methodology ............................................................................................................. 53 4.1 Historical Research ........................................................................................................... 53 4.2 Research Method ............................................................................................................... 56 4.3 Narrative Method .............................................................................................................. 57 4.4 Interpretative Method ........................................................................................................ 58 4.5 Periodisation ...................................................................................................................... 58 4.6 Data Sources ..................................................................................................................... 60 i 4.6.1 The Risks of Primary Sources .................................................................................... 63 4.7 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 64 Chapter 5: Theoretical Framework .............................................................................................. 67 5.1 Institutional Theory ........................................................................................................... 67 5.2 Historical Institutionalism ................................................................................................. 69 5.2.1 Characteristics of Historical Institutionalism ............................................................. 69 5.2.2 Benefits of Historical Institutionalism ........................................................................ 83 5.2.3 Limitations of Historical Institutionalism .................................................................. 84 5.2.4 Previous Tax Studies using Historical Institutionalism .............................................. 86 5.3 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 89 Chapter 6: 1891 – 1920 ............................................................................................................... 91 6.1 1891 -1893, Land Tax Design ........................................................................................... 91 6.1.1 Mechanics ................................................................................................................... 91 6.1.2 Arguments and Ideology ............................................................................................ 95 6.1.3 Valuation and Administration .................................................................................. 104 6.1.4 Revenue and Incidence ............................................................................................. 106 6.2 1895, Taxing Native Land ............................................................................................... 107 6.2.1 Addressing Tenancy of Māori Land ......................................................................... 107 6.2.2 Parliamentary Opinion and Debate .......................................................................... 109 6.2.3 Later Developments In Taxing Māori Land ............................................................. 112 6.3 1903, Creating Equitable Taxation .................................................................................. 113 6.3.1 Altering Graduation Brackets and the Absentee Tax ............................................... 113 6.3.2 Influential Ideas and Justifications ........................................................................... 114 6.4 1907, Preventing Tax Avoidance .................................................................................... 117 6.4.1 Tax Avoidance – Pre 1907 ....................................................................................... 117 6.4.2 The New Act ............................................................................................................ 118 6.4.3 Ideology and Argument ............................................................................................ 120 6.4.4 Effectiveness of the New Measures. ........................................................................ 121 6.5 1912, Conservative Reform? ........................................................................................... 122 6.5.1 Legislative Changes ................................................................................................. 122 6.5.2 Retaining Land Tax .................................................................................................. 124 6.6 1915 – 1917, Wartime Reform and Unification .............................................................. 125 6.6.1 Revenue Reform ....................................................................................................... 126 6.6.2 The Ascension of Income Tax .................................................................................. 130 6.7 1920 ................................................................................................................................. 131 6.8 Summary ......................................................................................................................... 132 ii Chapter 7: 1929 – 1952 ............................................................................................................
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