The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-10-17
Local Taxation.
To the Editor of the Press:

U TIC EuttOT " TIE ITeSS.
Having in mind special phase of taxation
which do not think has been treated upon
by any of your various contributors of tag
articles, will with your permission, refer to
the matter Of village corporation taxation.
which, at the present time is quite an item in
the the list of tax exactions.
So many such corporations are now EN-.
barking upon the new line of experiments,
such as the hiring or owning of water appa.
ratus for fire protection and sewer flushing,
the employment of expensive street lighting
systems. etc.. that it seems to be incumbent
upon the people in the natural defence of
their own rights, to Investigate the subject
with view to the ascertaining of whether
or not burdens thus incurred are fairly and
equally borne.
Taking, fer an example our own Norway
village corporation. We fiud that while the
prevailing poll-tax rate of the entire town is
two dollars, the additional poll tax for cor
poration purposes is one dollar. And while
the rate upon the property of the town is
eleven dollars per thousand the additional
assessment Tor corporation use is three dol
lars and seventy-hve cents per thousand or
more than nne-tbird of the town rate. Know
ing the rates, let us look a little farther and
see for whose benefit this extra load Is car
rled, ana from whom the contributions
come.
Property, for corporation assessment. ia
usually valued as 1t is for town assessments.
though this rule is not always adopted.
Aside from the poll taxes, of course, in will
ages IKE the one named herein the major
portion of the tax levy is upon real estate.
stocks-in-trade, bank stock and some naonev'
ana why do say some money? For tile
Gerry good reason that this expression seems
to be the only one that can possibly be used
IN mi, ms connection. Some money. being just
under our singularly elastic and accommo-
dating system which enables a person to SO
arrange his or her financial affairs as to have
money accumulations safely and securely
locked up In such manner as to defy all
attempts OF the assessor to tax the same. by
merely depositing such money in a state
savings bank at certain time of year. The
difference in situation between towns and
village corporations is to be readily observed,
from the fact that portion of the state tax
upon savings bank deposits is given out to
towns as school aid, but no such allowance
TAILS to the lot OF the corporation. 1t must
pay fer Just such music as it chooses to dance
Dy, be the expense greater or less according
TO It's ambitious and privileges, enjoyed by
all the Inhabitants within its limits.
what seems to be most unreasonable and
unfair In the matter is this, that scores of
people In most of these villages receive a
full measure OF relief by reason of reduction
on insurance rates, because of the corpora
tenn, as well as full benefit of PRIVILEGES of
well lighted streets, and yet contribute moth
lng toward the maintenance of the same.
They have nothing but money, and that is
all In the savings bank" How very fOrtu-
nate for them! We are told that the law
stands between the proper use and abuse of
this savings deposit system, ond that the
remedy lies In the enactment prohibiting de-
posits of more than two thousand dollars to
single name. How very farcical is this
provision: If possible it is more effete than
the alien-contract law of the general govern
ment. Lawfully abiding by the prohibition
as to deposits, let us try and estimate the
amount which so fortunate person can
place beyond the reach of the assessor. And
TINS can be done by multiplying the maxi
mum limitation-two thousands dollars-by
the number of savings banks In the State,
and the product would be an amount quite
likely to make the aforesaid possessor real
lie that he or she had no great fear of "a
rainy day." or "a long winter" l submit
tnat the practices under the present system
OF taxation in the matter referred to, must
be evidently wrong and unfair, and as such
should be corrected. ID. S.SANBORN.
Norway, Oct Is, 1890.