Iron County register., 1891-11-12
Judge Maguire's Answer.

A few weeks ago the San Francisco
Call in its editorial columns, asked
Judge James G. Mcguire two ques-
tions:
First What will be the tax per acre
on land, taking the total government
expenses of last year and the total area
| of tillable land in the United States as
the basis of estimate? Second-Can
the total expense of government be car.
ried more easily by direct tax on land
than by indirect taxes, such as the
manufacture and sale Of whisky, duties
on articles of luxury produced in for
eign countries and brought into this,
and licenses for the privileges of specu.
latlon?
The judge took occasion, in an adj
dress before the Single Tax society, of
San Francisco, to answer these ques.
tions. He said:
If all taxes for the support of the ma
tional, state, county and municipal
governments of the United States were
leveled upon the tillable land alone.
and if all the expenditures Of the sew.
eral governments would not be materi-
ally lessened, such taxes would prob
ably amount to three times the rental
value of all such land. Farming would
be immediately discontinued farms
would be promptly abandoned, as if
they had been swept by a pestilence,
and no man would be found willing to
pay the ruinous taxes for the privilege
of keeping his overburdened land. But
no sane single tax man has ever made
or countenanced such a proposition.
Neither is it proposed as the question
of the Call assumes, to levy an area
tax by the acre or otherwise. The prop
osition is to raise all revenues requir-
ed for all public purposes by a single
tax upon land values ultimately upon
the economic rental value), irrespec.
tive of improvements thereon. This is
a very different thing from an area, or
acreage, tax on tillable land. Indeed.
it is not tax on land as such at all, but
tax upon that value which is impress
ed upon land in particular localities,
regardless of its natural fertility, by
the presence and industry of the gem
eral population of the locality.
A strip of land under one of the
Blythe estate shanties on Market street,
having a frontage of single foot, is
worth more in the market than an
average farm of 100 acres in the interior,
and would pay proportionally greater
tax. 1t is, therefore, impossible to state
what would be the tax per acre on land
assessed according to its rental value,
but we can easily estimate the percent
age of the rental or market value of all
land which will be necessary to meet
the expenses of all government
In this city in 1886, the total munich
rl - p4a IN
revenue, was S4, 1913, 41a54. The total
expenditures of the United States for
that year were $242, 4S3. 1873, of which
San Francisco's proportion, according
to population, would be about 81, 2O0.-
900, making total of SIS, 1928, 41s. "a to be-
raised here for all purposes of all our
governments. The assessed value of
land in San Francisco for that year. ex-
elusive of improvements, was $3.50, 932,-
500. Assuming that this was the true
value of the land, tax of four and one
tenth per cent. would yield surplus Of
more than S64, 600, while a tax of per
cent on the actual selling value-for IL
was assessed at less than 20 per cent. Of
its actual selling value-would yield a
surplus of S2s7, 97s. 43.
To the Calls first query / therefore
answer that the single tax, to meet all
the needs of our several governments,
would be about per cent. on the actual
value of land.
To the second query / answer, mosa
certainly. The masses of the people
who now pay nearly all the indirect
taxes are also obliged to pay to private
toll gatherers the land rent, which un-
der the single tax would pay the entire
expenses of the government. The poo
pie would also secure cheaper ground
rent, Cor a heavy tax on land values.
Of improvements, would
both encourage and compel the i'm
provement, leasing and subdivision of
land, thereby increasing the supply of
buildings offered for renting without
Increasing the demand.
thus by the universal law OF supply
and demand reducing rent.