The Portland daily press., 1871-02-24
DAILY PRESS.
PORTLAND
:. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY "a, 1871.
state Taxation.

The want of perfection in human nature
receives curious illustration in the report
recently made to the New York Legislature
by SPECIAL commission on State taxation.
The report, drawn up by David A. Wells, late
Special Commissioner OF Internal Revenue,
after very large induction of facts
drawn from the methods of taxation in other
States as wei as in New York, recommends
The following rather startling remedies for ex-
istlng evils: first the taxation of real estate
at its fall value; second, the exemption O. all
personal property except the capital stock, &C.,
OF corporations doing business wholly within
the State; third the exemption of mortgages,
and fourth the discontnuance of the multi
pcIty OF oaths as a basis of healthy taxa
ton. The commissioners say that it is i'm
possible to tax personal property impartially,
unless it is thought best to 60 back to the sys-
TEN of physical torture as means of elicit
ing the truth. As matter Of fact not one
fifth of the personal property is taxed in
New York. Thirty men own property really
worth S25,000,0U0, more than the nominal
aggregate valuation of all the personal prop
erty in the State. Men worth hun ireds of
thousands 'swear their property down" before
the assessors to few hundreds. Where any
serious attempt is made to levy tax accord.
1ng to the real value of property, persons
affected thereby uniformly refuse to submit TO
1t, and change their residence to places where
the assessors are not SO conscientious. 1t is
on this account chiefly that the commissioners
tpa ri hot ho
only to an infinite amount of paijury, but to
gross injustice and inequality of taxation be
abandoned altogether
This representation oil the state of affairs in
New York would be equally accurate for most
other States; certainly for Maine. Some Hour
years ago member of the Legislature, Mr.
Atkinson, of Embden, attic mp'ed 20 have the
notorious evil of the unequal taxation and the
escape From taxation of personal property
remedied by law, but the scheme was quite
generally regarded as futile. Where property is
ar stake men seen to have little regard Tor the
truth. Before the usury law was repealed bank
officers in this State were required to make
!. oath annually that their banks had not taken
more than six per cent. interest. This oath
was taken with considerable cheerIulness.
though the necessity OF taking it was urged as
one reason for the repeal of the usury laws.
Whether the banks actually did take more
than six per cent. We leave each reader to
find out for HIMSELF
But there is one reason for exempting per-
sona property suggested in the report we are
discussing thai ought never to be so much as
mentioned again-aamely, that the present
method is driving capital out Of the State"
How much farther is this competition be-
tween the States to see which shall lavish up
4 on capital the most favors, immunites and
special privileges for the sake of keeping it
"in the State" to go? How much further is
this foolish competition foolish because the
State boundaries are the merest imaginary
geogl aphical lines that represent no natural
antaeonism) to carry us in exemption from
. taxation, in loanng municipal credit, in high
rates of interest and other bids for the invest
ment of capital? And, by the way, the CON-
. missioners are mistaken when they say that
in Maine manufacturing establishments are
exempted from taxation for ten years as a
matter of course. The fact is that two thirds
of town must consent before this can be
done-and that is bad enough. Beside the
property exempted is included in the State
valuation. and the manufacturers neichbers
have to pay bis State tax for him.