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47
£ s. d.
Sir George would add to his rent half rates at 3s. 31 17 6
But would deduct half rates at 5s. 53 2 6
Xett deduction 21 5 0
Leaving the freeholder to take £3 15s. 0d., instead of £25.
If the rates were doubled, say increased from 3s. to 6s., the
deduction would be £(53 15s.. as against the addition of
£31 17s. 6d., leaving the nett deduction for local rates alone
£31 17s. 6d., or £6 17s. 0d. more than the annual ground
rent. As the assessment of the house increases after the
rating of ground rents becomes law, so also (according to
this plan) will the deduction to be made from the ground
rent for local rates increase, although the freeholder cannot
possibly derive any benefit from the increased value of the
house during the existence of the lease. Again, suppose the
ground rent stood in proportion to rack rent, as £25 to
£250 when the house was built, on what principle can a
deduction of rates on an assessment of £450 be justified
when the ground rent remains unaltered? The ground rent
is only part of the consideration given for the use of the
land; the sum expended in the erection of the building is
also part of the consideration. The purchaser of a lease
does not buy the bricks and mortar but only the right to
occupation during the term of the lease.
5.—The above illustration shows the difficulty of adopting the
particular proposal suggested in the Report of the Committee
of the County Council, but other inequalities would
arise under some suggested methods of rating ground rents.
For example, when an estate is let on a building agreement
an aggregate ground rent for the whole of the land is
fixed. As the houses are built and leases granted the ground
rent is usually apportioned unequally; thus some houses
have a ground rent of 10s. only, which is a common minimum
reserved by the agreement while others of equal or
possibly less value will carry a ground rent of £2. £5, or
even £25. It is clear that under the proposal of the Committee
of the London County Council, a man who purchased
a low ground rent two or three years ago would stand at a