The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1873-09-26
ABOUT TAXATION.

and 1t Is sometimes asserted by persons
who know nothing Of the facts that
Wheeling capital seeks investment in
manufacturing enterprises on the Ohio
side of the river because OF difference
in the rate of taxation. In fact, some
of our citizens evidently think that the
people of Wheeling are taxed more
heavily than those ofany other city IN
the Unionf and that they havesbut to
cross the river and locate their proper
ty on the Belmont county eide in order
to save their money from the grasp OF
the tax collector.
Now let us see what are the facts.
On each hundred dollars worth OF as
gessed property the citizen OF Wheeling
is taxed as follows: for State purposes,
90 cents; State school fund, 10 cents;
Asylum fund, 5 ceLts; for Ohio county
expenses OF al kinds, 20 cents; for
City expenses of al kinds, except
schools, so cents; for City schools,
(teachers fund) 20 cents, (building
fuud) Is cents. This makes total OF
one dollar and ninety cents, (Sl.9O) or
each hundred dollars, as the cum OF
all taxes levied on property in the city
of Wheeling this year. Outside the
corporation, the tax is one dollar and
five cents on the hundred dollars, to
which must be added small levy for
school purposes, varying in the several
districts from 10 to 90 cents.
But how is it on the Ohio side Of the
river. We have before Us, clipped
from the St. Clairsvlle Gazette of this
week, an official advertisement setting
forth the rates OF taxation in Belmont
county fer the year 1873. On each
one hundred dollars valuation there is
charged for State purposes, IS cents;
for county purposes, 40 cents. In the
Martins Ferry corporation the several
taxes for local purposes amount to
s.. 80, thus making the total taxation
to the property-holder in that borough,
1907 on each hundred dollars.
In the Bridgeport corpora
ton, the local levies amount to $l.97
and the total tax on each one hundred
dollars valuation there is S2.72. In
Bellsire, the local taxes are SLIP! and
the total tax reaches $2.473 on the
came valuation.
Outside these several corporations
the local tax is not 80 great, but there
is no portion OF the river valley in Bel
mont county where the total taxation
is less than sl.92.
1t would seem therefore that instead
OF Wheeling capital seeking investment
in any OF our neighboring towns in
Ohio in order to escape taxation, the
more natural course would be for Ohio
money to find investment on this
side OF the river. We expect
that this will yet be done.
The opening of the Pittsburgh,
Wheeling and Kentucky railroad will
make available for manufacturing sites
several miles Of river bank on the West
Virginia side, well supplied with good
and convenient coal, and upon proper
ty in that region the rate of taxation
will be about 81 10 10 81. 20 or the huns
dred dollars. If manufacturers should
choose to erect their factories in
Marshall county where many equally
advantageous sites may be found, they
will only be required TO pay State and
county tax Of Go cents on the hundred
dollars valuation, together with local
levy of from 10 to 20 cents for district
school purposes. In Brooke county
similar advantages may be secured,
the rate OF county taxation there being,
according to our present recollection,
IS cents on the hundred dollars.
The advantage which the West Virs
ginia Panhandle enjoys over the Ohio
side Of the river is mainly in its free
dom from q heavy burden OF local tax.
es. Take the Martins Ferry corpora
ton for an instance. Property there
pays on the hundred dollars, . cents
township fund; 10 cents township road
tax; 70 cents school fund; 81 cents
corporation fund; and 100 cents for
the Ohio Valley Pike, making in local
taxes alone sum much larger than
the entire State, county and corpora
ton taxes in the city OF Wheeling. II
we compare points remote from the
present business centres but available as
advantageous sites for manufacturing
establishments, we will still fad that
in the matter of taxation West Vir-
GINA has the advantage, and that so
far are we from being the heaviest taxed
people in this region OF country that we
may reasonably lay claim to the credit
of having the least expensive govern
ment and icing saddled with the few
est public burdens.