The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1888-01-28
Bubble affairs.
Report of Commissioner woolford.

y
him upon corporations amounted to $685.
1920. The total is composed of the
State taxes on the assessed value of the
real property of corporations amounting to.
SAC, 1883, and on net shares of stock and
assets of corporations, and on the deposits
of savings institutions, amounting to $685.
273.46.
FARMERS AND CORPORATIONS.
The tax commissioner says: "For the
greater portion of the past year, interest has
ruled low, and profits generally, and of the
farmer and producer particularly, have been
so exceptionally small that little could be
expected from them by way of addition to
the aggregated wealth of the State. Con-
sidering the small profits accruing to most
of the industries in this State, the increase
in amount and value of the assessed capital
of corporations in the last two years is de-
cidedly encouraging, being upwards of
eight millions of dollars over that of 1885,
and upwards of twenty-eight millions since
the establishment of this Office. Several
large manufacturing corporations have been
organized during the last year, and works
Of magnitude promising the expenditure of
large capital and valuable increase in the
employment Of labor are now in course of
construction by them, which will add ma
terially to the volume of assessment for the
coming year. 1 renew the recommends
ton made to the General Assembly of
1886 for the passage of law requiring
every corporation organized under the gen.
eral corporation law Of the State to report
its organization to this office before COM
mencing active business"
SAVINGS INSTITUTIONS.
The aggregate of deposits of savings in
situations of the State July l, 1887,
amounted to s31 ,2Os, 5646s; amounts not
bearing interest and in accounts less than
one hundred dollars each, 81 ,S49, 1922 6; as
sessed value of real property, SIT, 1888;
amounts invested in mortgages, S4,426,-
OS9 .26; amounts invested in United States
bonds and other non-taxable securities,
S12,0S9, S37.93; amounts invested in Sc
curities on which the State taxes are paid,
$4,2S4,799; amounts liable to taxation,
S8,07S, 353.13, and the State taxes thereon,
S15, 1856 Mr.. Woolford thinks that
savings institutions should be required to
pay franchise tax, but they should not
be burdened with heavy taxation. The
amount of their taxation should be fixed
by law SO as to avoid any opportunity or
inducement to attempt evasion in their re-
turns
NEW ASSESSMENT.
l take it for granted that the General
Assembly will at this session enact law
for general assessment Of the property of
the State, and | respectfully suggest that
a provision be inserted in such law recog-
nizing the capacity of property to produce
a certain annual income as one of the tests
by which assessors shall be governed in
ascertaining the value of property. While
this is not the only test of the value of
property, it is one which, if judiciously ap-
piled, will in most instances s--spre a more
accurate ard equitable measurement of the
amount of contribution to the expense of
government Of the different owners of pro-
perty in the State. Heretofore the assess
ments of property in this State, under our
general laws, have depended entirely on the
judgment of the numerous different asses
sors, and have been based, perhaps, more
on the ascertained cost of such property
than on its capability to produce income,
and make this suggestion as calculated to |
give the assessors an additional test to en-
able them to arrive at an equitable and just
distribution of the burdens of taxation.
SUGGESTIONS FOR TAKING BONDS.
/ respectfully suggest the propriety of
providing by law rate ofinterest at which
all solvent coupon bonds and other bonds
and certificates of debt shall be assessed for
the purposes of taxation according to the
rate of interest payable on such bonds and
certificates respectively. The necessity of
such provision can be easily illustrated.
For instance: To tax coupon bond bear
ing interest at three per cent. at the face
value of the bond would, in the city of
Baltimore, amount to practical cOnfiscation
of the income from it, and in most of the
counties would approximate the same re-
suit. think a rate should be provided by
law for the uniform assessment of all such |
investments bearing interest at less than
three per cent. as the lowest rates at three,
three and a-kalf, four, four and a-half, FIVE
five and a-half, and six per cent, and over
six per cent. as maximum. A precedent
for such Legislative assessment exists in the
law Revised Code, article 2, section 95) |
which provides that SO much of the State
debt as bears interest at the rate of six per |
cent shall be assessed at par; so much as
bears interest at five per cent shall be as
sessed at eighty-fve dollars in the hundred;
so much as bears interest at four and a-half
per cent. shall be assessed at eighty, and so
much as bears interest at three per cent.
shall be assessed at sixty-four dollars In the
hundred. l do not suggest the adoption
of these rates of valuation, but only cite
the law as precedent for legislative as
scssment. The want of such provision
has been sadly felt by those conscientious
persons who feel it to be duty to comply
with law, and discover truly the amount of
their personal property for the purposes of
taxation, while it furnishes an excuse to
evade the law by every possible means to
those who are willinr and any ious n, do o..