The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1885-02-05
Assessing Property.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.
Ianr Doth 1909

the matter should be discussed in the pub.
nc press until laws governing assessments
Shall more nearly accord with constitu-
t;onal provisions than they now do.
Absolute equality in the distribution of
the burdens OF taxation is impossible, but
: any system which permits the gross inc
. qualities which you instance, and such
cases as observing people everywhere see,
may and should be corrected.
But in seeking the remedy we should he
J sure we are right. Double taxation is not
contemplated and yet it often results.
May it not be from mistaken idea rs
to what constitutes property?
Evidences of debt, such as mortgages
and bonds, while they are representing
property in the hands of their holders ms
to their relations to the debtors, are not
properly considered in their relations to
the great public in its aggregate.
Dept Is not property, and evidences of
dept Wherever or by whomsoever owned,
only exhibit their holders interest in some
real property.
In the estimate of our national wealth
made to include any and every species of
real property do not mean land alone by
the term TedL-it would be fictitious esti-
mate to include our national debt. If all
evidences OF it were held at home it would
not matter, would it? If held abroad how
much less so, as it would then be as much
a mortgage upon our resources as the
mortgage upon farm would be.
Suppose your city of Staunton, with all
us realty, to be assessed at ten millions,
and every piece of it's real estate to have
an REMEMBRANCE of half its assessed value.
and imagine that every. man holding this
real estate were to hold lien upon his
nelghbor'S land for as much as his own
debt, is, the whole five millions of
Indebtedness was owed by and owned by
citizens Of your city-could anyone truly
say that the aggregate wealth of your CITY
was above the ten millions? No, sir.
debt is not wealth, and debt should not be
| taxed. 1t is true great national party
has taken the opposite view and we have
heard loud cry in favor of taxing national
bonds. still they are not taxed, but for a |
different reason. But for this known free
dom from taxation the government could
not have borrowed the money at the rate
1t did, nor indeed at any rate not covering
every liability in that direction. So Of |
state and municipal Indebtedness as evil /
denced by the issue OF bonds. The cIedi-
tor must know the terms upon which he |
loans his money.
Now let us come down to farm mort
cages or deeds in trust. 1t matters not |
| for the argument whether A owes 81 900 /
| thus secured, for purchase money on his |
estate, OF IT he borrowed it to buy cattle
| or bank stock, it is the same, debt ToI
relieve him of taxation to that extent and |
| put it upon the lender of the 81 900 would |
| not help him in the least, for the lender ]
would exact it from him. Every buyer of |
real estate upon credit knows that he has
to pay assessed taxes thereupon. And it !
is presumable that terms of credit are
much more liberal when the vendor is free
from taxation.
A few years ago, after much agitation, \
the laws OF the state of California were
made to conform to this idea and holders
OF real estate were by law relieved and the
burden placed ON the creditor. The result \
was general foreclosure and enforced
collections. Surely that brought no relief
there nor would such law here Indeed,
many believe that it would be far better
If all such liens were free from taxation
entirely. 1t would certainly tend to create
more favorable rates of interest and pay
ment.
I think you are entirely mistaken in
saying that in New Y ork the amount that
the purchaser might owe is deducted from
the assessed valuation. Suppose the obli-
cation was due to citizen Of another
state, and its amount fluctuating by pay
ments or by accumulation of interest. 1t
/
plant was made there in very much the
same way it is here.
Now as to assessing property upon it's
actual production.
Let us suppose case A holds a tract
of mineral land which has cost him $200I
per acre. We will say it is assessed at
that. 1t is not in the market. A pur-
chased 1t for an Investment and expects to
see the time when he can sell it at 500
per acre, 1t produces nothing in the way
How about the unproductive and often
unsightly vacant lots in growing towns,
kept vacant by grasping possessors often
to the serious detfiment of all their neigh
bors and of the town itself?
Why, many town has had its prospects
utterly blighted by having too many such |
land owners and not enough funerals, as
the writer heard o sufferer once remark.
We al deplore the present inequalities, l
but in looking for relief we should try to
avoid errors. 1t is subject that will tax
the powers of the wiSest to solve properly
and to meet the present condition of So
ciety. The nearest approach to equality
of taxation among mankind was perhaps
the one given by the great Jewish law
giver, that of titheing. That would not
meet the requirements of our day. Sup /
pose assessments were to be made by the
holders of property themselves with a law
that they should be compelled to sell at
any time when rendered in money GER
tain percentage above their own assess
ment. That would compel something like
an honest assessment, if not an equal one, /
but it would interfere with the current esti-
mate of our rights and privileges, and
with our present guaranteed rights under
our constitution.
1t seems absurd to think q man could
by any law be compelled to sell even at SOL
per cent. more than his own estimation.
But really why more absurd than to see
men complain of onerous assessments
which are only one-fourth what he has
been offered for property?
The State and the municipality cannot
tax its own bonds without STIMULATING for
that and reserving the right in the act,
and that is not done, for their bonds would
not sell. The right to tax one mill in the
dollar would involve the right to tax 100
mills. The State regulates the legal rate
of interest. To tax evidences of debt is to
lower the rate of interest in effect, for it
reduces the compensation the lender is by
statute entitled to receive. One serious OBJ
lection to the whole system of taxing bonds
is in the case with which the law is
evaded, A vast amount of bonded in
debtedness always escapes taxation, and
may adQ always Will. Wnlle so many De-
lieve it to be unjust when they know the
property bonded IS taxed. If wrong in
this l would like to be corrected.
In the new Northwest, where land spec
lators hold tracts which they do not i'm
prove and will not sell, it is often the Gus
tom of settlers who wish to, prevent such
obstructive holdings to assess up to full
value and make them at least help pay for
the improvements which add to the value
of such holdings, which is but justice any
where. In New York the inequalities of
taxation were so great owing to the differ
ent views Of assessors in counties often
contiguous, that State Board of Equali-
cation was created to declare how much
each county should pay of the State taxes.
Those inequalities only affected State
taxes. Some counties were reduced many
millions of dollars and it was added to
others. PURLIUs.