View report page

35
valuation Bill. The following abstract of the report
of the Clerk upon the provisions of the Valuation
(Metropolis) Bill describes the object and scope of this
measure:—
The Bill is the outcome of the conference of London assessment authorities
with the Local Government Taxation Committee of the Council convened
by the Council, and which sat for about a year discussing questions of assessment
procedure. The conference, with only six dissentients, finally passed
the following resolution, viz.: —
"That this conference of representatives and officers of the Overseers and
" Assessment Committees of the Metropolis is of opinion that the
"Valuation (Metropolis) Bill, as now settled, embodies a desirablo
" amendment of the law, and may fairly receive the support of the
"authorities of the various Metropolitan parishes."
Under the provisions of the Bill the London County Council will make
bye-laws regulating the practice of Assessment Committees, Overseers,
and others in the assessment of property.
In the third or fourth year of every quinquennial period the Council will
convene a conference of representatives of Overseers and Assessment Committees
to deliberate upon questions relating to the practice of assessment,
and to consider proposals for alterations of bye-laws, &c.
The Council will nominate persons to represent it (but not to vote) at
meetings of Overseers and Assessment Committees; will have power to
make objections to the valuation lists before the Assessment Committee ; and
to appeal to the Valuation Court which is to be established by the Bill
against the decision of the Assessment Committee. Ratepayers, Surveyors
of Taxes, and Overseers may appeal against the valuation list to the
Valuation Court.
A Valuation Court is to be established, to consist of three persons
appointed by the Queen, one of whom is to be a barrister or solicitor of not
less than ten years' standing, one a member of the Surveyor's Institution of
not less than ten years' standing, and one a person (not being a solicitor,
barrister, or surveyor) of experience in the assessment of property. The
provisions of the Valuation (Metropolis) Act, 1869, relating to appeals to
sessions are repealed by the Bill, and the proposed Valuation Court takes
the place of such sessions. Owing to the pressure of work the General
Assessment Session has not been able to deal promptly with a large number
of appeals which were of great importance. The hearing of one of these
appeals occupied the Court for 25 days, and was spread over a period of ten
months. It was therefore thought expedient by the promoters of the Bill to
establish a special tribunal to deal with assessment cases.
The Council is to make a valuation of railways, tramways, canals, docks,
water-works, gas-works, hydraulic power works, telegraph works, telephone
works, and electric works, which extend into more than one parish in the
Metropolis, and to apportion the rateable value thereof between the several
parishes into which such works, &c., extend. Provision is made enabling
parties affected to object to the valuation and to be heard by the Council
or its Committee
c 2