The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1891-07-10

DuL 70 tuo eurprIeo OF t0Oe0 VINO uo
taken . hand In the passage Of thes
y laws. the time hsd hardly arrived 10
them to bear fruit in the way OF IN
creased taxes from the corporations 81
fected thereby when this same republi
] can attorney general. who had procnres
\, the passage OF these lsWs. In his zeal !?
10 sec the burdens OF taxation bea
EQUALLY upon those rich corporations D
upon the poorer citizens. discovered thu
.. these laws were unconstitutional; and
|. bv and with the advice and consent o.
: Governor Hovey allowed those corpora
tions to pay taxes according to their own
sweet will.
TRUE CASH VALUE.
i So far as the criticism OF that feature
Icf the new law which requires all prop
'lerty 10 be s-sessed for taxation ct its
4 true cash value is concerned, IL is . suf.
ficient answer to say that substantially y
the same provision has been in force In
this state ever since It had an existence
Indeed, Il Is the recognized basis for val
usiion Of property for taxation In every
state 10 the union. The merit OF the new
law on that subject, however lies in tho
fact that il contains provisions which
will insure that its requirements are oh
served. But II is argued by the enemies
OF this law that this feature OF the
law will cause an appreciation in
values for tax purpoaes OF 100 per cent
lor upward, and that, therefore, our taxes
will be increased in the same proportion.
Let us see how far these assertions are
borne out by the facts. The amount OF
taxes required 10 meet the public DE-
lmands depend, very largely, indeed al
most exclusively. npon local officers,
boards Of county commissioners, town
ship trustees, road and municipal off,
cers. The rate OF taxation is determined
bv two things, viz : amount of money ap-
r opriated and expended by the local Of
fcers, and the assessed valuation or
property upon which taxes are to be-
levied 10 rise the necessary public funds
to meet public expenditures. The
BY taxation being once fixed. them
the rate Of taxation is determined
solely by the assessed valuation Of
property for taxation. IL the valu-l
alton Of property for taxation be iu-l
creased the rate Of taxation il follows, asi
: matter Of course, may be decreased inl
the same proportion, and have the same
income IRON ta1ation. There ere . feWi
fundamental principles Of taxation which,
ought 10 b observed IN framing all taxi
|or revenue Isws- Briefly these may bel
stated - equality. uniformity, univer-
aality, certainty. II was with view tol
making the burdens OF taxation 10 thisI
state bsar with equality and uniformity
upon oil property that the provisions
were incorporated iRto the new tax law Y
requiring I'll property 70 be assessed at
its true cash value. These desirable
features Of taxation could be accom-
plished In no other way. II is . matter
of common kno wledge that under our
former tax laws taxes have not been
equal and uniform. There have been
unfair discrepancies ~ between individ-
uaIs, different townships 10 the same
county, and ssIbet ween the various c0un-
ties ~ ihe state. Particularly is this
true as 10 the state taxes. There has all
ways been trace Of diligence to see
who Of us could most nearly escape tax
alton. To do this, there was always al
strong incentive for under-va Iuation W
The result is we'll known. III some
counties and townships property was A.
sessed ct its actual value, or nearly 90.
IN Others, u ranged down 10 Is per cent,
80 per cent, and even less than half its
actual value. Il necessarily followed
that in place Of equality and uniformity "
We bad inequality and injustice on every 4
hand.
THE Law BENEFITS THE POOR.
That the requirements OF the law that
y aka1 h. "a ~
cash value is In the interest Of the poor as
sgsiDst the rich, both persons and cor
porations, is easily demonstratable. Tol'
illustrate: Suppose farmer "A" wasl
Of property Of the actual value
Of $4,000. But under former appraise-
ments IL was taxed 1t $4,000, half its
actual value. Farmer IA thus escaped
taxation on 5000. Suppose banker
B." was possessed Of property OF the
actual value Of $4,000. But under
former appraisements IL was taxed atl
o50 OOO half lis actual value. Banker "B. nj
under the same rule, thus escaped taxation l
,n $50 600. Underoshe new Law We will
suppose that farmer ssAr and banker
'B" are each required TO Iist their prop
erty at its true cash value. The sraise''l
On banker "B" will thus subject 10 taxa
ion enough property, heretofore es-
;sping taxation 10 pay all the taxes, state
md local, Of five farmers, with as much
property ss "A" Or, 10 put II In another
way /; the "raiser on banker "Br under
lhe new law will furnish enough addi-
ioaaI property. subject 10 local taxes, to
pay an amount Of local taxes equal 10 the
increased taxes by reason Of the Cd.
iitionaI cents. state levy. on the prop.
'rty Of probably one hundred farmers, i
ach possessed Of % much taxable prop
'rty - "A"
THE STATE LEVY. Ii
So far as the complaints made BY ourlv
epublican friends agsinst the increase OIL {
he state levy are concerned, Il certainly Il
omcs with poor grace for that party tolc
COMPLAIN Of tax Of 6 cents on each ol0OIt I
4 taxable property, levied for the ex- I
'ress purpose Of caring for the afflicted
md unfortunate portion OF our people,
vho ere compelled 10 6nd : habitation :
q the various benevolent institutions ofid
'ur state. II ID, according 10 republican
laims, gross extrsvsgancc, incompc- \
ence, psrtisanship run mad, for . demo-
ratio legislature 70 levy : state tax oi $