Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1893-10-12
TAX MEETING.
Personal Property Tax Discussed at
Grand Rapids, Mich.
A Lively Debate Between George r. Rich
ardson and VIM. NJ. Hathaway-The
Meetings Proving to be Very En-
PERTAINING.

held another interesting meeting July
IS. The subject, Resolved. that the
tax on personal property is absurd and
against good public policy" was
ably handled by Messrs. VIM. Hatha-
way and Luten for the affirmative;
while Hon. George F. Richardson and
NJ. j. Kolts negatived the idea Mr..
Hathaway began by defining the mean
ing of tax and explained why it was
necessary to have a tax, that it was for
the support of government, and pro-
lection of its citizens; that the citizens
were supposed to pay tax for the
benefits received by all He consid-
cred the best way to raise the tax was
in such a way that it could be strictly
enforced and not lodged or escaped
as is extensively the case with the
tax on personal property thereby
compelling those who are least able to
dodge it to bear the extra burden, and
generally this was the poor man,
while the rich man escaped. That the
tax on personal property land it was
generally ADMITTEDLY was burdensome
for the poor while it was scarcely felt
by the rich. The tax on personal
property did not come up to the re-
quirement for which it was designed.
Jay Gould paid tax on personal prop
erty but his assessed value did not
amount to one-twentieth of his per-
sonality and yet those who were many
times poorer than he must make up
the deficiency. The percentage of
personal property was growing less
annually by reason of the tendency to
hide or escape the tax and thus in the
thickly settled counties and in the
rural the percentage of tax on personal
property was greater and the farmer
was thereby the loosen, all of which
went to show that a tax on personal
property was absurd because the tax
was a tax on industry that should not
be paid by the individual; because
there was a national fund which be-
1onged to the people as community
and that should be taxed before taxing
the product of the laborer's toll.
Land values were created by the PEG
pie and were the common property of
all the citizens. Personal property tax
is sometimes a double tax, as when a
man buys a piece of land for 81, 600 and
gives mortgage back for one-half the
land and both being taxed. There is
no such thing as personal property in
land
Mr.. Richardson began by giving his
ideas of what governments were for,
l. e., to provide for the comfort and
of its people and to pro-
tect them in the enjoyment and exer-
else of their rights. There are many
different things for what a tax may be
collected. There is the general or fed
eral government, the state government,
the county government, the township
government, the city government, the
ward government, and the village gov
and probably twenty separate
for which tax must be
collected. All these different govern
ments were supported at an enormous
expense for the benefit of those who
lived therein and that it did not seem
just to propose to exempt any one from
his share of the tax neces-
sary when most all Of his possessions
consisted of personal property that the
man who held mortgages and made
his living in that business needed and
as much profit from the gov
as any other man, and. in
some cases provisions were made for
MS special benefit, such as a register of
leeds which is necessary SO that deeds |
nay be recorded and true history |
Kept SO that he may see that the titles |
ire all right and safe as an investment,
hat he may be sure in his property
lights. He drives over the same roads,
sends his children to the same schools, |
Ind receives the same protection of the |
avs and benefits of the courts as other |
citizens, and why should his securities |
,e exempt from taxation? On the con- !
rary, should he not contribute his |
hare Of the tax? He referred to man |
# his acquaintance who lived in q
ownship and had all of his property in |
in mortgages and was draw
ng seven per cent and as high as
welve.
The personal tax on mortgages was |
or the protection of the home lender
Igainst the foreign lender with whom
le must compete.