Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 February 1919 — TAX BURDEN ON REAL PROPERTY [ARTICLE]

TAX BURDEN ON REAL PROPERTY

TAXATION RAPIDLY INCREASING ON REAL ESTATE IN MANY STATES. EFFECT OF TAX REFOR?. General Property Tax System Bad Where In Effect. ~—riidTanaTofis - The burden of taxa--itow i!< rapidly inci easing upon rea-H property. This is true in practically all states having a general property tux system similar to our own in Indiana. Practically all of the reports concerning taxation from the differentstates havingsy stems of this kind touch upon this subject. The last repoit of the Montana Tax Cbminission says: “When this gystem was adopted in Montana taxables consisted almost entirety of lands and jmprovemepts, live stock and other tangible—personal property. These were all visible and bpen to inspection and valuation by assessors. In 1890 this personal property constituted 27.9 per cent of the total valuation. In 1918 this had decreased to 12.6 per cent. Thus the burden has been shifted from intangibles to land and tangible property. Instead of advancing hand in hand with personal property, real-estate and improvements have increased six times in their assessed valuation, while the personal property portion noted has increased only two and one-third times. It requires no profound wisdom to understand who is paying the taxes in Montana, nor why the tax burden is heavy ana unequal ou owners of tangible property.'-’ — Increase In Land Taxes. Real estate is assessed each four years under the Indiana law. In 1903 land and improvements represented 57.40 per cent of the total tax duplicate of Indiana. Twelve I years after, in 1915, it represented 64.35 per cent of the total value. Land is to be assessed in 1919. It is not unfair to say that it will probably advance to at least 70 per cent of the total value of the tax duplicate of the state.

Frank E. Packard, member of the tax commission of North Dakota, writes: “Our mill tax law provides briefly for three mills on the actual value of all intangibles. No deduction is made for debt. This year we have listed something over one hundred million in money and credits. Heretofore we have never listed greatly in excess of one million. Last year it was about one and a quarter million. I feel very confident that in another year we can increase this by 50 per cent. Considering that North Dakota is an agricultural state, with a population of about seven hundred thousand, and that we put very large sums in tjtorortion to our wealth into liberty bonds, thrift stamps, Red Cross, etc., this is a very good showing.” Prof. Charles J. Bullock, professor of economics of Harvard University, a recognized tax student and author--ity, says; Experiment In lowa. “In one state, lowa, where the experiment was tried under most unfortunate conditions, there was an actual loss of revenue in the first year, but, for ati that, the experiment

wagriotdiscontTriued. The lowa law didn’t even free people who came forward and disclosed their , property from liability to very drastic penalties for evading taxes in prior years. Any state that tries a flat tax on intangibles, without starting with an armistice, or a general amnesty, or statute of limitations, or something of that sort, so far as all back taxes are concerned, will have exactly the same experience that lowa went through.” He also said, referring to the work Of a committee of the National Tax Association, appointed to draft a model tax law for the association, of whi'-h he is chairman: “Our committee believes that the American taxpayer is, on the whole, *a much abused creature. That is, he is abused because he is misunderstood and misrepresented. He is frequently a tax dodger. But thn conditions are such that you can hardly blame him ; he has never been given, in most states, a fair chance. Wft think the experience of Wisconsin and of Massachusetts shows that if you give him a fair chance, under a fair system, enforced upon everybody, without fear or favor, he will come forward and will do his duty like a man and a good citizen."