The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-01-09
There.
=. to allow any owner OF
,o purchase exemption from state

1t;on for twenty years by paying tea,
,,or cont on the present assessed value eA
b;s ,ro,,criy in State bonds. such cXenE-
t;nr yo,,Id pertain to and add Easue tosiSs
n,nnc,tv. and could never be taken away
because il would be a contract, ana tnefci"se
;rrencalable under the Constitution. OF que
.ITnited States. Thus man whose ianu - kom
assessed at $4,000 would purchase twsn ~
years exemption by paying IN oo1 1eo 'o VI
81 900, which would cost nm aeout %S"U W
5000 in cash. The taxes on that same iat,u
in the course of twenty years woutc ctItalnty
amount to $1,000, and more likely TO i,ooV'
for the land will increase ia yaiue. III sucn
IN offer were made by the State. ana were
accented by everybody, we should nave inc
rhnIe debt of S2S, 200, 900 paid into the lrea'
snrv at once and eXtinguishcd, ana Tue en-,
tire real estate Of the Commonwealth lreea
from taxation for twenty gears. Notn'ns
could occur which would more pleihpli! ie
inyieorate our exhausted con'itoh. 81 81
tiers, money. industry, woula He% 10 S S..o
where the land was untaNed anc Tile ot',s
Free from debt. The annual expenses would
lie paid out of taxes on personal piopeiH
and indirect taxes by licenses
The whole expenses of TIC state govern
ment rs ct present organized are less tnan
81 500. 900. The tax on personal properly;
which is worth 100000 900, would yleia
$5O0,000. e
The license system and other sources Oh
revenue now yield S700,00a, making in al
81 300, 600. leaving only 5000, 0O to be raised
by other taxation. But it is utopian 10 eA,
beet that any large number Of citizens couio
pay twenty years taxes in advance. !fopa.
bly, few millions would be co-ieaScu II! tnls
way, and thereby the dent ee' eAtingu'shec
to that extent.
years, taxes in advance, or five, at their OPP
lion. Authorize any one to pay IN state
bonds taxes for five, ten, fifteen. or twenty
wears, as seemed to him best. Every dollar
Daid in would be an extin2uishment OF 80
much debt. go
If taxpayer now pays ten gears taxes
in advance he will certainly ut the presens
rate of State bonds realize ten per ceht. IA
his money for each of the ten years, any,
besides that, escape the certain, aosolu,e,
nositiye rise in his taxes to come iroLn lne
Certain. positive rise in the value Oh ms pro
Derty. For instance, suppose nun ~ .a AZ,
now amount to $50 per annum. Hoi Un
years IL would be $500. Now, etate oonus
can be bought at 30 cents on 5ne uo eSso'
therefore bond for SOU Wouiu c oo sa ~
- toTess or he would pay his taxes at S2o
" ,,er resr Instead of $50 if be paid them an
nually. o,,,a ho ov.;led
&c TO q certain extent, and II the law was
made general and permanent it would largely
henef;f. our people, as they grow Detter aoie
Tins 20 Law. up money in advance.
su1 ~ 200 rms raid would add more to the
-,,ina ~ property than the money expended.
n,hus. In the case supposed, where party
1aI Maid $500 Of taxes with $3.50 invested IN
a $500 bond, the property on wnlch otats
taTes had been prepaid for ten years "oulo
3 heiworth,fulIy $500 more in money Than the
same property with taxes unpaid: InetaA
MAYER would thus get the value OF MS lnYess
h ment BY way oflmprovement IN the fa,ue Oh
his property from the very gay ne maae Il.
What he had paid $3.50 for would at once be
.,uort fs $500. This idea Of using the debt to
q .as;aya fine property OF the State from in
] ;a,,.,.bsn,oe may be elaborated in many de-.
81 ssiIs me principal is that We should en-
s s Ieavnr TO let our citizens buy up the debt
@Eiie II Is deprecated and pay It Into the
treasury for its face value.
s1f course in working out such O system
many details are to be guarded. The State
would agree to accept payment of taxes in
advance on property as it at present exists,
md not to tax during the time paid for any
4 ADVANCE in value in the property itself. But
All buildings and improvements OF that kind
nIaced on property would have to be subject
To taxation, like all other property subse-
4Quently created.
The experiment suggested could certainly
- do mo- harm. If such scheme were ma
tt,red into law, and nobody embraced the
s0ffer, we would be where we were before.
but every dollar of bonds paid into the
Treasury under it would eStinguish that
much debt, and to q much greater degree
!. strengthening public credit than the super,
ahow that the people of Virginia have un-
dertaken in earnest the task of paying her
ssalebt even before it natures.
2 Thee are mere suggestions-hlntsw which
hone may be of some use to throw light on
8 n subject OF much difficulty and greater im-
I portance. j.