Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1882-10-18
The Legislature.

III hA4faI thAih i'i5 W. N'N'AN'
The Legislature.
STATE House, Oct. 18th.
To the Editor of The freeman The
second week of the session closes to-
morrow at 10 o'clock. and although the
members have been unusually devoted to
business, rot single bill has yet been
passed by both branches. Several bills
have been killed, however. and / don't
know but the legislature deserves moro
praise, as a rule. for what it defeats than
for what it promotes. Certainly, the
session, unless most OF the benilicent
workings of the present tax law are to be
lost, the legislature needs to be very con-
sentative, and must frown' severely
upon most, if not all, of the cranky
amendments" which have been intro
duced by Jealous amateurs.
LET TIE TAX LAW ALONE.
Mr.. French, of Underhill, nice enough
little fellow, who wants to enact the part
of atlas and bear the world upon his
shoulders, without rejecting that it needs
pretty broad pair to sustain the weight,
is the chief among these would-be tinker
ers. His hobby Gas remarked last week.
is the partition of the burden of taxpaying
upon real estate between the mortgager
and the mortgageo; and, after much
travail, he has at last produced bill,
which he considers to be as near perfec-
ton as is possible in this wicked world.
1t is the old bill, to which | referred last
week I'll. y enlarged, remodeled, revar-
nished and furnished with all the modern
improvements. Its machinery is so COM
plicated that it would kill good bill,
which this is not. Its effect, if passed,
would be to reduced tho gross amount
raised by taxation many thousands of
dollars, and to cause more litigation in
collecting what could be collected than the
sum would be worth. give an abstract
of the bill. 1t will be seen that it releases
mortgages altogether from the payment
Of taxes on their mortgage notes, the very
class of property which has always evaded
taxation, to great extent, and what it
was the especial aim of the trainers of the
law of 1880, to bring into the list. 1t is
entitled IL. 9G," an act to equalizo taxa
tom
1t proves that in making up, the annual grand list
tate taxable to each taxpayer the amount owing by
him. on the first day of April on MORTGAGES Of real
to exceed the value Of the property mortsaged =
o Tea the be-
according to the value of the real estate in each town
of mortgage is shared by several persons the listers
sh ali apportion the deduction among these persons
morgaeed the mortgage Of such real estate shall be
subject to taxation in the town where the real lie estate
ne OF the estate, and subsequent morteas ees sha
m and ywhere there are morEEees
under one moIgaYe, each MORTGAGE shall pay taxes
s. hen the mortgaged ZEAL estate lies in different
towns the different mortgages shall pay taxes in pro-
The size of their mortgages. ,-..-, T..
tax within 80 days after it becomes due, the mortgagor
shall be liable and ne collector NAY enforce r fne
the mount Of the tax so collected as a receiut and if
any part of the amount collected is not que from
contract the mortsaEor shall be entitled to credit
III In makng his inventory each mortgagor shall
make a full des crptou of the mortgage, ITS locality
norgagees or mortgagors but the listers shall not be
obliged to &c ept their statements;
ors, except as provided in this act and the mortga
gees shall be relieved from paying taxes on the"
notes Tor mortgages on Iand IN the state.
Another bill, which contains some good
suggestions, especially in regard to the
preservation of inventories was drawn by
MIR. George w. Bassett of Barre and was
introduced by Mr.. Priest. 1t is II. 100,
and among other things contains the fol-
lowing provisions:
/. Every, person shall fill out his inventory and
9nnd to the sterS or eays da in If the Pp5t
annually under penalty fine of dollar day for
GA aS or 6 Hs5S the 8h of April annually the listers
shal classify ana arrange ne lay4Rtories preparao
listers may estimate the yslae Of his property from on
power e relieve him, ,........
list they sha have Kit to take as basis Of the
St nsy ha p a9a 5 eT mS E
property their tad nent shall make his list true
The The erand list instead OF yer cent
No., ha e nyg49fes shall De preserved Tor years.
s; M Listers may measure mans land if they
acreq, ana may alter the Gaadrennai list
Mr. Meacham of Brandon wants (H
lOD to leave the oath to the inventories
amended so that the tax payer must swear
that he has contracted no debts whatever
for the purpose of avoiding taxation,
whether real or fictitious debts. Dr.
Erwin of Newport also wants the cath
amended little, so that after the words,
II do solemnly swear Cor affirm)" "to the
best of nv knowledge and belief"
These are yery good specimens of the
class of amendments which are proposed.
Some of the siliest gave last week. 1t
is safe to say that the grand list commit
tees will adopt very few of the suggestions
in these bills perhaps the only one will
be in regard to tho preservation of the
inventories.