The Globe-republican., 1890-10-01
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT.
Why THE BARN WASN'T BUILT:

one, and you must have money enough
laid by from the sale of your crops the
past few years to pay for new buildings
and fences and make your home look a
hundred per cent better. to say nothing
of the saving. Why, that old, tumble
down barn doesn't hold moro than one
half of your hay and grain, and the loss
from stacking out of doors must be fal
more than the interest on the cost OF a
new barn. Besides that old rookery is
disgrace on such fine land as you have
here. and then there must be some
danger of its blowing down in one OF
these heavy gales and killing some OF
your stock"
swell, Frank" answered his uncle,
''all you say is true enough. but guess
you don't just understand the situation.
You see, in the first place, l haven't
quite enough saved up to build such
barn as l want, and so would have to
hire some money and pay interest on it;
but then I wouldn't think of building at
present if had more than enough"
"Why, Uncle Ben, don't you want bet
ter bui.dings?'
''Of course I do, my boy; but then you
see just as soon as l put up new barn
the assessor would come along and raise
the valuation of my farm, and the taxes
would be so heavy that it would take
about all could raise to pay them. Only
last year l cleared up and drained that
bit of swamp land down beside the road
there and built few rods of highway
fence alongside of it, where the brush
and weeds used to grow; and the as
SCISSORS raised the valuation five hum
dred dollars, and that added about
twelve dollars to my tax, besides the in
crease of highway and school taxes, and
all that On account of clearing up less
than an acre of land"
well, uncle, it made your farm look
ever so much better. That brush patch
was always an eye sore to me, at least"
''Yes, Frank, it did look bad enough
right there beside the highway, and I'll
admit that it made at least Ave hundred
dollars difference in the appearance of
the farm. But then l could not afford
to make many such improvements and
be compelled to pay the increased tax
on them"
But. uncle, why are the taxes SO high
here? 1t seems to me as if they were
outrageous
''Oh! you see the town is bonded for
S143, O0O to aid in building the Midland
railroad, and we are paying the interest
on the bonds now, and shall have to be-
gin payment of the principal in two or
three years. The bonds were made pay
able in twenty years and we have been
paying the interest ever since"
''Well, Uncle Ben, would like to talk
over this bonding business some other
time; but now we will talk about
this tax on Improvements. Now, uncle,
you have about one hundred and fifty
acres of land here. How much were
your taxes last year?"
''Let me see; there was S14C for town,
county and State tax; then there was
S11 school tax, and I worked out $40
highway tax, making in all about S17O.
"Well, uncle, that is about 81. Is per
acre for your whole farm. Now, how
much does Smith pay on that fifteen
acre swamp pasture of his down there
your field?'
''Oh! he doesn't pay much on that.
Why, his school tax on that was only a
few cents when was collector last year,
and asked him how much he paid in all
on it, and he said about three dollars"
But it is good land if it was brought
into cultivation, is it not, uncle?'
Eyes, of course. it is; and l tell you
Smith makes a pretty good thing off of
it now. You sec he pastures his young
stock there, and it is good pasture, too,
as the scattering bushes on it don't in
jure it much for that purpose, and it is
just wet enough to raise an abundance
of green grass the summer through.
Why, he has nine or ten head of cattle
in there, and then it's increasing in
value every year as the land is cleared
up and improved around it. l suppose
when cleared up that acre adjoining it
that it added as much or more in pro-
did to the value of my farm.
But, Uncle, did these assessors add
to his valuation on that account?"
'Oh, no; of course not; he had not
made any improvements on it."
''Oh, see. They don't tax the value
Of the land. it is only the improvements
that are taxed"
''Well, guess it amounts to about
that. after ALL"
but, Uncle, don't you think it would
be nearer fair thing if the land were
taxed according to its value. without re-
gard to the improvements. so that Smith
would have to pay as much on those
fifteen acres as you pay on fifteen acres
Of your land?"
well, don't know but it would. I
never thought much about that before.
but guess, come to think of it, Smith
would be likely to cut the bushes of
and improve it in that case, for he don't
get quite as much value of it now as
10 for the same number of acres"
"But, Uncle, if you don't have to pay
my tax on improvements your tax would !
be no more to the acre than his is now,
would it? And then you could build a |
new barn"
''Oh, yes, of course it would, for there |
IS just about so much to be raised. But |
taking the tax of of imprOyements