EFFICIENCY OF LAND USE / Doeltreffendheid van grondgebruik

Abstract

In the communal agricultural sectors three reasons for market failure were advanced (a) free access to communal grazing which is a problem if the group is larger than the immediate family (b) lack of incentive to invest in improved pastures and fodder production due to the free rider situation and (c) opportunity cost of land differs from what market forces will determine. Commercial land expropriated should be resettled on a private individual tenure basis by small scale farmers and not on a communal basis. Under a communal system the return (rent) on grazing land is zero while the return on arable land is low due to lack in permanent tenure. This explains idle arable land in KwaZulu in spite of population pressure. The rental value is the cost to the farmer for non usage of land if it can make a positive contribution. The market mechanism penalizes the commercial farmer for the non usage of commercial land. A land tax does not increase this cost and will thus not bring unproductive land into production. (The supply of land is not perfectly inelastic due to improvements). Taxes on agricultural land have certain advantages such as (a) avoidance less possible than income taxes(b) a wealth tax and (c) may better target to wealthy landowners who with the assistance of tax experts are better able to avoid taxes. Disadvantages of land taxes are that administration cost may be high and the tax is the same in good and bad years.

Uittreksel

Drie redes waarom die mark faal in 'n kommunale grondgebruikstelsel is (a) vrye toegang tot kommunale weiding wat 'n probleem is as die groep groter is as die naby familie (b) onvoldoende insentief om te belê in verbeterings soos weiding en voer as gevolg van “free riders” en (c) die geleentheidskoste van grond verskil van wat markkragte sal bepaal. Kommersiële gronde wat onteien is moet hervestig word op basis van 'n privaat grondbesitstelsel deur kleinboere en nie op grond van 'n kommunale stelsel nie. Onder 'n kommunale stelsel is die rente-opbrengs, (“rent”) op weiding zero en die op ploeggrond laag weens afwesigheid van permanente privaat besitreg. Dit verklaar waarom grond dikwels onbenut is in bestaanslandbou ten spyte van bevolkingsdruk. M.b.t. die kommersiële boer, die markmeganisme penaliseer hom indien by nie sy grond tot die optimum benut nie. Die “rent” of verhuurwaarde is die wins wat die boer inboet indien sy grond ongebruik word en is dus die geleentheidskoste van grond. Die aanbod van grond is nie perfek onelasties nie a.g.v. verbetering en 'n grondbelasting sal die aanbod na links verskuif en nie na regs dikwels gemeen word nie. Grondbelasting het voordele soos (a) omseiling minder moontlik (b) belasting op rykdom en (c) kan meer rig op welgestelde grondeienaars wat met behulp van belastingdeskundiges beter daartoe instaat is om inkomstebelasting te omseil. Nadele is dat administrasiekoste is hoog en die belasting is dieselfde in goeie en swak jare.