Page:Lectures on Housing.djvu/39

 justified in charging interest at a somewhat higher rate, the difference between the new and the present rate going to a national reserve fund, out of which possible losses might be paid. In addition it would no doubt be necessary for the Government to guarantee the Commissioners against loss.

We must touch briefly on the question of rates. They have risen 14½ per cent. in the last ten years in County Boroughs, and 17 per cent. in Urban Districts in England and Wales, and now they average about 8/- in the pound. Probably the great mass of the working people pay in rates what is equivalent to a shilling Income Tax, and there is little doubt that that is an undue strain on their resources. It has already been hinted that the National Exchequer is going to bear certain burdens which at present fall upon local rates. From the point of view of the working man, there seems to be a strong argument for partially unrating improvements and placing the rate instead upon the capital value of the land.