The Royal Commission on the Method for Determining the Unimproved Value of Land Held Under Crown Leases was established by Letters Patent on 12 July 1924 "to inquire into and report upon the method which should, in view of the decision of the Parliament of the Commonwealth that the taxation on lessees' estates in Crown leases under the Land Tax Assessment Act 1901-1916 should be collected, be adopted for determining, on the basis laid down by the Act, the unimproved value of the land held under such leases."
 
The Chairman of the Commission was William Warren Kerr CMG, CBE. The Commissioners were John Jolly and Maurice Boyce Duffy. Mr Jolly resigned from the Commission on 26 August 1924. Mr J L Menzies was appointed Secretary to the Commission but was almost immediately replaced by H C Brown.
 
In all, 25 public sittings were held and 12 witnesses were examined, the final sitting being on 8 September 1924. The Report of the Royal Commission on taxation of leasehold estates in Crown Lands 1918-1919 (CA 2436) and the Report of the Royal Commission on Taxation 1920-1923 (CA 2409) were thoroughly examined. Mr Eastwood, the official representative of the Graziers' Vigilance Committee attended all the public sittings and was permitted to examine witnesses. Mr W J Lambert, Senior Valuer for the Federal Taxation Department, represented the Department at 5 sittings.  

Letters were sent to witnesses and 38 firms representing pastoral interests. However, having supplied evidence to the two aforementioned Royal Commissions and this evidence being available to the sitting Royal Commission, they were disinclined to tender fresh evidence.  

The terms of reference limited the Royal Commission to the method that should be adopted for determining unimproved value of the land under Crown Leases, not involving any amendment to the relevant provisions of the Land Assessment Act.
 
The recommendations of the Commissioners were that in determining the unimproved freehold value of improved leasehold lands, general principles of evaluation should be observed:
 
1. the carrying capacity of the land should be ascertained;  

2. the subject land should be compared with sold freehold areas and
   the amount properly attributable to the value of improvements
   deducted from the improved value;
 
3. the net earnings per beast area of the subject land should be     
   estimated, capitalised at the appropriate rate of interest with
   the value of stock and improvements eliminated; and
 
4. the results of 2 or 3 should be compared, if there was a
   significant difference 3 should be adopted.
 
The Royal Commission also recommended that:
 
(a) in ascertaining new returns income tax should not be taken into
    consideration as it was not being expended in the production of
    income;
 
(b) owing to the liability of Crown lessees to the re-appraisement of
    rents, allowances for rent could not be made by way of a
    deduction from the unimproved value of the land;
 
(c) loss of capital expended on improvement could in no way be     
    considered as affecting the unimproved value of the land as     
    freehold;
 
(d) unimproved values of land should remain constant for taxation
    purposes; and
 
(e) the Taxation Department should review the valuations every three
    years.
 
A Board of Appeal under the Land Tax Assessment Act had already been suggested by both previous Royal Commissions and was again recommended. "The existing Taxation Appeal Board appointed under the Income Tax Assessment Act and subsequent or additional Board of Appeal similarly appointed be empowered to hear and adjudicate in matters of appeal under the Land Tax Assessment Act." (Report p 1020) This paragraph was quoted by the Commissioners from the Report of the Royal Commission on Taxation (Land Tax Section).
 
The Report was signed by the Chairman W W Kerr and the remaining Commissioner M B Duffy on 12 December 1924, presented by Command and ordered to be printed 10 June 1925.
 

Sources
 
Commonwealth Parliamentary Papers, 1925, Vol II, pp 973-1033
Borchardt, Checklist of Royal Commissions, pp 46-47
Historical agency address
Melbourne
Legislation administered
Letters Patent 12 July 1924 (Register of Patents No.25 p272)
Commonwealth of Australia Act No.12 of 1902, Royal Commissions Act 1902-1912
Land Tax Assessment Act 1910-1916