The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1890-07-19
LETTING IN LioHr.

49, wv ~ esSssbs
- slnsls rsx Men q Philadslphia Have ,
mt with IN Omcial Committee ON Taxa
lion.
PMLADxLPHIA, March 1.-Single tax
men made . hit in the herring this
week in the hearing before the State
Commission to investigate the questioS
Of taxation. A. II. Stephenson and ].
L. Shoemaker represented tho Henry
George Club, and the latter distributed
to the members of the commission and
others present copies of proposed law
providing for separate assessment Of
land and improvements, and empower
ing local taxing bodies to exempt from
taxation all buildings, structures, Nv
ing trees, developments Of mines, per-
sonal property, posts Of profits, profess
sions, trades and occupations, money at
interest, stocks, bonds and loans.
Mr.. Stephenson then had hearing
before the commission He presented
sound single tax arguments against
various other taxes; declared that Ia
Philadelphia workingmen's houses were
assessed at 70 to 80 per cent of their
value, and the real estate of large hold
ers at much lower percentage.
would it not be so under youa sys-
tenn" asked Chairman McCamant.
mo. Two men own lots equal In
size, side by side, on Broad street. The
man who has 500, 600 house on his is
to DO taxed on the land value alone and
the same amount as the other man, who
has aothing on his lot. Thei lots are
necessarily approximately equal In
value, and neither can be Disseminated
against without his finding it out"
'Aren't the present inequalities due
to the bad Judgment of assessors?" was
asked. e
"They are universal, and yet there
must be some good assessors" was the
reply.
''Of course, gentlemen, this single
tax principle is going to utterly destroy
land speculation" ~
"Yes."
''You'll destroy ownership" was sug-
gested.
Eyes, speculative ownership. Pos
session will be more secure than ever.
One tax would mako taxation equal
Now . man can buy lot. go to Europe
for ten years, return and find his lot
doubled in value. We destroy his own
ership Of that unearned increment. We
propose to tax only those values which
the city, the presence Of the people
creates, and let man improve his place
as high as possible without fining him
for it. We propose to take the un-
earned increment for the use of the
people who created it."
Suppose mans property falls in
value" suggested Mr.. Wright.
sThen we tax him less"
Shouldn't we give the unearned in
crement back to him?"
ssYes. we do. We tax him less. Big
taxes will fall upon the big values, and
low taxes on the low land values. The
city will pay more. The farmer will
pay less. The value of land is mainly
due to the improvements on it, and
when we exempt his improvements
there VII be less to tax the farmer on"
Doesn't the building give the value
to the land" asked Mr.. McCamant.
How could you separate the value Of
the building Of the Girard trust from
that of the land it stands on?"
Before reply could be made Repre-
sentative Taggart hastily added to it
the superstition that If the houses were
clerred of Broad street to the Delaware,
what would the land be worth?
Without the the people?" retorted
Mr.. Stephenson.
"The people wouldn't be there with
out the houses" snapped Mr.. Taggsrt.
1.-The houses wouldn't be there with
out the people," replied Mr.. Stephen
SON, and he enlarged upun the doctrine
that the presence Of the people was
what created the land value, and that
the only thing that made Chestnut
street houses more valuable than those
on Poplar street was the crop of peo-
pie" that were passing along.
Editor George E. Mapes, a Spectator,
asked II the single tax system would
not drive wealth into bonds and forms
of property, so that the tax would be un-
collectable."
1--WE won't drive any wealth out Of
the country" responded Mr.. Stephen
son, land bonds only represent improve
ments-"
Suppose there are two FARMS" said
Mr.. Wherry; ION one the Improvements
are seventy-iive per cent; on the other
twenty-five per cent The market
value of one 500 per acre; Of the other
$50 per acre. How viii you get the land
values?'
Subtract the value of the improve
ments from the market value" replied
Mr.. Stephenson. ''The farm Of 500 per
acre with seventy-five per cent Of inn
provements would be taxed ON land
value of SIS, and the farm of $50 per