Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 September 1892 — THE REPU BLICAN TAX CONS TIMS [ARTICLE]

THE REPU BLICAN TAX CONS TIMS

3ATJSE ENORMOUS INCR EASE OF REVENUES IN ETERY DEPARTMENT

Unnecessary Local Taxes Impos by Republican Commissione mittee—A Table Showing and Miscellaneous Taxes an The accompanying table presents a partial statement of the specific increases of local taxes in the Republican counties of Indiana. The first five columns include the taxes that are levied everywhere, and the last column includes more irregular taxes, such as bridge, sinking fund, corporation, etc. Poll taxes and dog taxes are omitted, and the list of miscellaneous taxes does not include all of th« corporation taxes because many county auditors do not report corporation taxes in their abstracts. Persons using this table should therefore note the following facts: Of the counties named, the corporation taxes are not included in Decatur, Delaware, Fayette, Huntington, Jasper, Jefferson, Jennings, Lawrence, Monroe, Montgomery, Ohio, Porter, Rush, Spencer, Vanderburgh, Vigo and Wabash. In the counties of Boone, Clinton, Daviess, Elkhart, Howard, Jay, Tippecanoe and Wayni the report of corporation taxes is partial only, and does not include the cities of Lebanon, Frankfort. Washington, Goshen, Elkhart, Kokomo, Portland, Lafayette, Cambridge and Richmond. In using the table locally the increases for the towns and cities tHus omitted should be added to the column of miscellaneous taxes. The last column shows the amount that taxes should have been decreased in the several counties on account of increased distribution of tuition money by the state. In each class of these local taxes the Republican counties show a heavy increase, the aggregate being $1,093,686.75. The total increase of local taxes in them is about $175,000 more ($1,969,249.25), but this addition;d portion is omitted as explained altite. There are two th e local taxes everywhere should •»W , biswa treduced. (1) The inoreasajl dlsjgibwion of school money tty the state', which is

ed to firing tlie New Law in Dto rs and Trustees by Instruction the Increase of the County, T d the School Money from the St seventy-five cents to each school child, and the local tuition taxes should have been reduced to that extent. The superintendent of public instruction gave due notice of this, but the Republican officials generally disregarded it. Am appears from the table the net increase in the Republican counties is $51,044.68, whereas there should have been a decrease of $274,057.40. (2) In the second place local taxes should have been decreased on account of the large increase in the assessment of corporate property. The theory of the new tax law was that an equitable assessment at fair cash value would so increase the relative value of corporate property that the entire burden of increased state taxation would fall on corporations. The 1-0811118 prove that the theory was correct, for tho increase of taxes on railroads alone is $987,208.28. But how is this increase of money paid by corporations to be got into the state treasury. The state levy alone brings to the state only an increase of $206,155.29 from railroads, and the remaining $781,047.99 of increased taxes paid by them the local treasuries. NowwMPjbe* you to get that money from top local treasuries to the state The only way to do It is to increase your state tax on all property enough to produce that amount, and decrease your local taxes in the same amount.

repute-Over $1,000,(K)0 Added , of the Republican State Comownship, Tuition, School, Road ate. and eighteen beans local taxes. There will then be in the local treasury ninety beans and in the State treasury ten beans. Now suppose you want to increase the money in the state treasury without affecting the citizens, how will it be done ? Double tho assessment of the corporations and give the man forty beans to pay his taxes. Then levy 20 per cent for state taxes and only 80 per oent. for local taxes. Each citizen will pay into the state treasury two beans, while the corporation man will pay into the state treasury eight beans and into the local treasury thirty-two beans. What is the result? You have in your state treasury twenty-four beans and in your local treasury ninety-six beans, and yet each citizen has paid just the same aiqount of taxes as before. The local treasury has lost nothing. It has six beans more than before. The state has all the revenue it needs, and everything is satisfactory. The Republican politicians saw that the new tax law would work out in exactly that manner, and they organized a conspiracy to prevent it by increasing the local taxes wherever they had the power. In the Republican counties, as has been shown, they made an increase of $1,209,249.25 and in the Democratic counties an increase of $853,768.85, or in all an increase of $1,628,048.80, This immense and wholly unnecessary 'fund goes into the hands of local Officials—most of them the same officials that increased the taxes—und creates a temptation to profligacy, extravagance and speculation with public funds. Thero is no excuse for taking this money from the pockets of tho people. It was done for the purpose of making the tax law unpopular on the supposition that the people would not have sense enough to distinguish between state taxes and local Sx.es. It deserves the emphatic rebuke the tux-payers.

The theory can easily be illustrated by ten persons as follows: Let eight persons reprosent citizens, one the corporations, and the other the tax collector. Assess each one and give the eight citiMus ten beans each to pay their taxes and the corporation man twenty beans. Then levy 10 per cent, for state taxes and 90 i>er cent for local taxes, and each citizen will pay one bean state taxes und nine beans local taxes, while the Lmpor-c ation man will pay two beans state taxes

Increase of Increase of Incrume of Inu offciw" Increase of Increase of Inc.of Bdh’l county. cou’ty tax. Twnp Tax Tuit’nTax ShwH& Mlccmlse *rt i**? Mo S>/ rom Decrease. ‘Decrease. ‘Decrease. "Decrease. increase. Decrease. State. gen* oll 15,079 2(1 WJwTIT $5 511 15 anjwk' IW m r,r ' *3,138 75 Boone « 127 89 1 VlO 59 *5 879 20 1 837 S , J}>2S 'J 4 - 878 15 0,882 00 Clinton' 11,082 85 1 108 53 *l'M) 97 '(DW 40 4 > i; 0,631 17 0,750 00 Daviess 23,223 70 k jojj 49 HO 7 m Decatur *0,086 07 1 037 07 *’722 in l’diu <ui J? 18,648 64 6,087 25 Delaware W 22 4® 41 6,380 & lo'S. M M 97 I'''!! 7 !] 8 1 420 50 Elkhart 2,131 37 740 38 *1 571 17 7 140 nr 2 > 878 51 4 > 6al 27 0.585 75 Fayette 453 07 1 ms so Vts au , 00 078 45 1,830 91 2,948 26 Fountain 6,197 73 !07 600 2,246 38 2 438 23 12 6,365 50 Gibson 6,122 24 2 351 05 *4 042 36 2 75‘> 24 7 ** 11,<(5 15 6,008 (X) Grant *7 L 52 72 i’™ 7,1 s’jer ,■« moil? ft *5511 04 15,208 55 8 400 75 Greene 11!..!!!!!!! I \m 96 1’412 65 W 5 3 'Z n 8 - 4 f l 4 6,81. 17 00 Hamilton., *909 55 1 ’766 29 *1 (ua k* Iu 44N . 7,118 38 0,70125 Hendricks *Ol5 28 7’gw og ntl-n if *4,888 82 13,489 13 5,319 25 Hdhry *722 16 2 394 72 3 4fW 77 A H ’ 7(W 2!i 7 ' ]| o 23 5,3-li oil Howard 8,381 81 *, ’.w, S o A ~7 tt 863 64 *1,603 81 6,887 00 Huntington *1,966 83 o’'lß2 23 5’795 88 nu 2,884 53 *1,258 14 8,573 30 Jasper 1618 m fgg | 4’281 53 i'm £ «.«» » *8,852 89 2 894 25 Jefferson 883 38 1997 99 ♦Ol5 eg , h™ >J UM 43 7,333 00 Jennings 4,114 02 Vl4o 40 2 092 10 2 848 (K) *1,224 97 4,438 50 Kosciusko 13 782 88 m a 1 407 ‘272 82 , ? » » 18,:337 43 6,975 00 Lagrange 528 67 t'wl 46 414 23 2 845 92 *•£? a4 ' 471 75 *!»« SO Lawrence 5,201 04 2MI U 2 719 04 5 444 « f-gj 44 2,04(8 25 Monroe 5,150 52 1 128 99 I'2H4 83 7 835 80 o’lTir 1.664 11 4,518 75 Montgomery *18,210 55 S 021 35 *4 766 75 *j 331 to J 844 *’} h',003 53 8,037 75 Morgan *2,190 02 2 477 77 *1 602 81 m ?,984 91 2,397 89 4.791 (H) Newton *LISS 88 fn & 2m 74 {'3o9 41 * 77 L 491 80 2,339 50 ??nble *13,415 33 1,85-1 79 1 977 58 IfVWI 16 !i- 2 8 <N ’ 6.457 00 Ghlo 5:’9'40 595 31 ’317 62 536 56 1 or' 953 81 1,345 70 Orange 930 84 3 079 08 792 76 8 205 30 .. 621 38 8,918 75 Parke *1,809 70 2'131 05 *5 705 72 ’97 54 5,234 99 4.893 00 Porter .. 5,232 02 4 221 80 4 882 59 15 713 84 L 2 7,847 68 8,551 00 Randoiph *4,078 90 %\ m 4 ) 4,725 46 8;627 57 f-J 18 27 ™ Ire-::::::::::::::::::::: 4’ms “ 7 « Steuben *3,049 61 DnSm* 1106 “ 459 441 *«sl 08 8,666 03 f} 87 l( ?‘^ Vermillion *678 89 g 71 6 649 42 5 100 04 a 8,482 fHj XJfcp .* *6,984 88 71 2* 112 20 H 280 21 J’JJJ 9,676 84 16,882 25 Wabash 13,641 91 2 716 91 4 116 69 BT»6 34 ?? 1 80 7,295 25 Warren 11,060 72 2 780 41 5*854 H 2 0 863 24 VtSSI 2,990 27 2,550 75 Wayne ......... 7,836 11 2,237 02 1,728 01 11 872 M) 3,00.3 87 J 7,925 20 9,905 25 Deer easci rtaSCS *100,875 50 *«8,255 75 $211,366 80 decreases 65,978 53 2,777 34 42,211 07 4,098 51 ,u W Net increases ’ 0 9g j,; Wtji WW 11391361 61 ® , Grand tot»sl ,003,080 75 .