, 1879-04-17


oiasf sts sesasy snd town sss I'll
orand Total municipal Indebted.
H'*e '''''t'.'. .... -. ,.....85l, BIZ, 0p1
It will DO seoa that nearly 81, 100000 of
railroaa.atl honda hnvo boon refunded, tho
now bonds bearing or Z per cont intorost,
wililo tho old bonds bora 10 por cont inter.
ost,-tho saving In Interest on evon tlsa
amall portion Of the dobt bcing oqual 10 $780,
O00 per yoar, or oqual to Tho lifetime Of tho
bond. Wo have not the oxaot figures show
Ing the rato per cont Of intercst on n1t tho
outstanding municipal dobt Of this State, but
taking that On the railroad-aid dobt, whto!,
ranges from 7 to 10 per cont, tho average ia
. 4-10 por cent, md, assuming TINT this nv
erage will apply to the gross municipal In
debtcanesa Of $51, ,811,G01, 1t will bo seen
TINT tho annunl charge for interest on such
dobt Is s4,147,0o7, to collect which under
our costly syatem, and to cover all expenses
md losses, tnx Of $4,7o0,0o0 Ia leviod an
nuafly.
Tho Rovenue Inv Of Illinois provides for
ono list of taxable property for all purposes,
that Is, ths ABsessors list aud value oil roal
and personal property 10 be ta1cd for stato
revonuo; oil city, town, county, and school
district taxeB arc extended on this property
thus enumerated. Erory piece Of property,
therefore, TINT Is taxable at oil is taxed for
oil purposoa consequently, whom m item
Of property In Chicago Ia assossad 1t becomes
ut onco chargoable for State, county, city,
town, school district, mud park taxes.
The Sato Of nlinoia provides for tho list
Ing md taxation Of nil credits, such as mort
gagos, promissory notes, and bonds. Ii n
inan buys horse and gives his note for tho
price, our law provides that tho horse and
also tho uoto be taxed, on tho assumption
TINT by giving the noto tho nmount Of prop
erty is doubled 4 Inv for tho taxation of
bonds prevails In most Of the States,
tho progress Of enlightenment on this aub-
jact having reached but few points as yet.
III tho last number of tho International
Reoteso Mr.. PEnnY BELMONT has brief but
instructive article, In which tho exemption of
municipal bonds from taxation by tito munic-
ipality issuing them is alyooatetl. This pol
10y is strongly urged upon several grounds,
but especially because no revenue is ever
collected from suoh tax beoauso tho fact
TINT such bonds nlay 10 taxed drives tllo1n
out of the hands Of residents in tho place is-
suing taom, and because, boing subfact to
taxation, higher rate of interest is demand
cd on them than would DO otherwise &C.
copied. %
The law Of 1!linoia cannot reach any bonds
not actually held in this State. The Supreme
Court Of tho United statas taa recently de-
oldcd TINT nomunicipal corporation borrowing
money on papor promising to pay stated
rato Of interest can lovy aud collect n tax
on the bonds by retaining or withholding
tho tnx out Of tho intorast when it falls duo
persous residing in other States holding
bonds issued by municipal governments In
Illinois cannot be reached by tito Ta1 laws
Of this State, while Bnoh bonds held In this
Slate eau be taxed 1t found by tho Assessor.
Thus tho City Of New York has boulcd
lobs, III excess Of its sinking fund, of $113,-
100000. on which tho annual interest IL
SO, 5000 The ratio OF tax III New York Is
32.65. Tho bouds bear or per coat inter-
est. II citizen Of New York holds ropis-
tared bond tho Assessor finds tho property,
and - per cent is collected for tax, whiol,
son1d leave him +t per cent interest on z
por cent bond. Tho result Ia that tho
oontls OF that city aro not held in tho State.
llIe Law imposing tho tax las not even tho
OF producing revenue. or the
whole amount Of s113,0oo,000 city bonds
nado liable to taxation, not over 81, ,00o, 600
s taxed. In tho attompt to tar, tho city hns
% pay q per cont additional lntorost On
OF debt, md collects $4,000
:oyonuo! Tho loss to tho city Is about
", ooo, 600 nnnually. That Is tho ponalty
imposed on tho people Of that city annually
" tho attempt to tar tho bonds OF tin city,
Tho City Of Boston recently attempted to
make per oent loan of ono million OF dol
mrs by subscription. This loan could oasly |
'avo found subscribers, but failsd because
ho public found that by writing their nnncs |
u subscribers they bccamo liable to tux.
subscriptions actually 1ado wore cancelca.