Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1866-11-23
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ness to shirk their own Just taxes on to their
honest neighbors whom they regard not
quite so cunning and shrewd ms themselves.
There are men that purposely keep
mortgage on their farms when they have
thousands at interest away from home, gen.
orally ut the West where interest is greater
than here, and some friend there to look af-
ter it, and when the listers call on them.
they demand their personal property set of,
and refer them to the land record, where
the farm will be found mortgaged. This is
done to a large extent, with many other APP
pliances of like kind.-Another very smart
game l have known to be played since the
increase Of taxation, is a combination of a
few to elect, by nomination or otherwise, n
lister for the purpose of favoring his pecul-
lar friends. himself included, and men that
have paid taxes for years on all their prop
erty and have created no debts, have sud
denly become so poor that every dollar of
personal property to the amount of thous-
ands is struck off, and some of them do not
pay taxes on as many hundreds of dollars
as they are worth thousands. This kind of
ingenuity should not longer be tolerated it
is unjust to the honest taxpayer, oppressive
to the poor man who must pay on his poll
and small homestead if he possesses one /;
and it is an encouragement to n mean ras-
caity that should be frowned upon by every
honest man in our State. But it may be
said the listers have it in their power to cor
rect these things. They cannot do it; men
that falsify in this way will swear to it if
their oath is required, and this is all the
listers can do-require their oath--and they
are reluctant to require this, rs some insist,
"if you put me under oath, insist you shall
require the same of all others in town." and
thus they glide along from year to year in
their iniquity verifying the fact that "the
love of money is the root of all evil"
Another very adroit way practised since
it has become so mnch of an object by the
Increase of taxes, is, to give a note or notes
torelatives, to brothers, sisters, sons, daught-
ers, Cousins, ETC., which they never intend to
pay fictiticious notes with an understand
ing that they are never to pay them. The
full purpose is well known to both parties,
and the parties holding the promises to pay
in turn, either correctly or fictitiously, owe
enough to escape all personal property as
sessment, and this single or double iniquity,
as the case may be, swims along prosper
ously and portion Of their share of the
public burden is thrown on to the honest
part of the community, who have borne
this treatment long enough and should be
relieved from it.
1t is impossible to fix taxation upon per-
feet equality if the whole property in the
State is left open to taxation some inequali-
ties would exist, but not q moity to what
now exists under the present system. So
far as cash is concerned it can escape state
and county taxes by investment in govern
ment bonds but the great strife now is to
clear other personal effects, farm, stock &c. !;
they cannot bear to pay tax on anything
that can by any possibility escape, and we
hope and pray that the clause of the listing
law which opens the door for so much dis
honesty will be at once repealed. Income
so far as it can be reached should be the ba-
sis of taxation, and when man buys a
farm. or any other real estate, he counts the
cost, or should do so, that is, he calculates
the income, to see if it will pay interest and
taxes, and regulates his purchase accord
ingly. If he is to get credit for the whole
or part of this purchase, knowing it must
be taxed, what hardship is there in the tax
alton why provide means to exempt other
property of his from taxation because he
has incurred this debt? But says one, the
debt he owes for this purchase is liable to
be taxed to the creditor But you have got
to find it before YOU can tax it, and this you
will not be likely to do, for if there is no
better way, YOU may be sure it will go into
government bonds and you cannot reach it,
Now, when a man buys any other property
than real estate, farm stock bank stock, OF
buys on speculation WOOL flour, grain, &c.
he can and should make the same calcula-
ton will it pay here is interest and tax
es accrung where then is the hardship ir
taxation He intends to make money out
of these purchases, and very often does to Q
large amount. and because he does it or
credit or borrows the money to do it, to
keep law on our statute book to exempt
this property from taxation, is perfectly
preposterous. The merchant buys his
goods on credit and makes his percentage
three or four times a year; can there be
any plausible reason assigned why those
goods should be exempt from taxation, be
cause he bought them on credit and has MOI
yet paid for them
We have Just emerged from a terrible
civil war, in which money has been expend
ed freely and without stint by onr towns
and State we have onerous Indebtedness
upon us which requires all the property o.
| the State to stand its share of its burdens
lin paying the interest and principal, lie
us be wise enough to equalize this burden
and put stop to this contemplate lying
| and cheating.
Look at this in the light that people i'm
| agine they are the gamers by it, and in foul
cases out OF five they are egregiously mis-
| taken. For instance, a man owning real es
| tate has an honest indebtedness against him
| by the way this law is now administered
| the enormous amount of personal property
now exempted both rightfully and wrong
| fully, throws the taxes so heavy on TO tn,
| real estate that he pays more than he would
| if all the personal property bore its share o
| taxation. This can be demonstrated by go
| ing into it fully and showing that the homes
debtor is not benefited but rather oppressed
than otherwise by its operation. The only
classes who are benefited are the knaves
and those who own no real estate and owe
TO the amount of their personal, though thi
latter class is small compared with the for,
mer. Could every honest debtor in thii
State see and know how this law, though
made for his benefit, is operating upon hi
| interest, he would call imperiously for il
| repeal.
The assembled wisdom of our State nov
at Montpelier should look into this matte
and if they wish to do the greatest good Il
the greatest number, they will put up tn,
bars against this abominable iniquity. lie
them ask themselves if this is the best anC
most rightful way of taxation, why il is tina
no State but ours has ever found il out
| Other States have all productive propert,
open to taxation, and TO bear its share of IN,
| public burdens. No law should be sufIere,
to exist upon our statute book when its di
rect tendency is to encourage fraud and dis
honesty. 1t has already been there too long
let us hope that it will be speedily wiped out
! Springfield, Oct. 10, 1866.