The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-10-21
MUNICIPAL rAxA11oN.

Association Tuesday night, "Munioipa1
Taxatiou," is the most important ques-
ton of practical politics. It's ques-
tion in which every citizen is personally
concerned; it is one thing in which even
the poorest man has moneyed interest
and yet, strange to say, it Is subject
which few understand or appreciate the
Importance of understanding. When
majority of the people do understand it,
will take place in the method of taxa
ton.
Manifestly, the system of Raising
taxes to be desired is one which will
bear Justly upon all the individuals Of
community, which will be of such ma
ture as to encourage manufacturing and
productive industry and which will be
easy of assessments and collection.
The present amount raised by Roam
oke city is S166, S57. Two thirds of this
amount is raised from improvements ON
real estate, personal property and the
license system, one-third from land ir-
respective of improvements.
The tax which is at present levied on
houses and improvements Of all kinds
operates to the encouragement Of build
ing. and is always paid by the user of
the house or building. As large ma
joritY, indeed nearly all, of the work
ing people are renters. this tax falls
upon them, they paying it in the form
of rent to the landlord.
The tax on the stock of merchant
operates to the encouragement of his
business, and it is tax which is also
shifted to the consumer. The tax i'm
posed upon the manufacturer is n fine
for doing just what the people of Roam
oke wants him to do. 1t is true Roam
oke has shown her wisdom by exempt
ing her manufacturing enterprises from
taxation.
Tho injustice lies. not in exempting
the manufacturing plants-because by
such exemption, encouragement is
offered capitalists to engage in manu-
featuring In Roanoke, but the injustice
lies rather in i'm posing taxes upon the
other branches of human industry and
commerce and upon improvements.
The present state of things is not only
unjust, but, as is very clear, such taxa
ton discourages the production Of all
those things contributing to our neces-
sity and comfort. All these taxes, to-
gether with the one hundred and one
taxes resulting from the so-called pro-
lection tariff, are shifted upon and paid
by the consumer. and SO fall upon the
mass of the people, not in proportion to
thier ability to pay, but in proportion to
their necessities.
Thus it is seen that tax on improve
ments, on personal property. on the
products OF industry, in short, all those
things embraced under the general
term wealth, is a tax which operates to
the Encouragement OF every industry
and productive business and is tax
which falls most unjustly and un-
equally upon the people.
To abolish all such taxation would be
to break the industrial letters. Legiti-
mate business of almost every kind
would be benefited and, more than that,
the heavy burden of taxation which the
masses now bear would be taken from
their shoulders.
Now let us look at a tax on land val
ues. If the land values of Roanoke
amount to SIS, 900, O0O-and this is GER
tainly fair estimate-an assessment of
but per cent. on this sum would give
the city Sl5O,000, which in itself would
be nearly sufficient for the municipal ex-
penses.
This tax would be one which would
in every respect possess the qualities TO
be desired in model system. of taxa
ton.
shifted. 1t is the only tax which can
be easily assessed and collected. Every
one knows that the present personal
property tax is a failure; that only q
small proportion of such property is
put in for assessment at anywhere near
its value, and that a great deal is in
such form that it can be hidden and
thereby escapes taxation entirely.
There would be no failure of this kind
with the tax on land values. Land can
not be hidden and its value can always
be estimated.
This tax is just, for land is made val
liable by the growth of the community,
and so when we tax this value we
simply take for the purposes of the
community value which Il created.
Under this single tax on land values
nothing is taken from any productive
industry. The manufacturer, the NOR
chant, the workingman is not fined for
his enterprise and energy, but receives
the full fruit of his labor.
BY the adoption of this system the
workiDgman would be benefited in pro-
portion more than anyone else. Tho
tax on houses being rem owed, rents
would be lower. The tax on the goods
of merchant being removed he could
atord TO sell cheaper, and competition
would make him do so. There being no
tax on manufacturing plants and enter.
prizes, Roanoke would be the city
where manufacturers could locate and
so employment would be abundant.
In addition to tho benefits, resulting
from the abolition of taxation on in
dustry, an assessment of per cent. on
land values would have tendency to
induce the holders of vacant lots to i'm
prove them so that they might derive q
revenue therefrom land the fact that
their improvements would not be taxed
would be an additional inducement
thereto(. So houses would be more