The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1896-01-18
FOR REAssEssMENT.
Both the Senate and House Prepar-
ing Bills.

ANNAPOLIS, Nd, Jan. l6.-The assessment
committee of the Senate is engaged in for
mulating an assessment bill, which they will
shortly introduce and, it is believed, there is
every prospect that it will pass the Senate.
/ The democrats are anxious to get proper
| bill through in order to redeem their campaign
pledge and send it to the House of Delegates
in ample time for enactment by that body.
! The Senate assessment committee has for
basis for the bill it is preparing the Hayes bill
as it finally passed the Senate in 1894. The
democratic members Of the Legislature held
u conference this afternoon in the library, at
which this bill was considered. 1t was shown
that theirs was unanimity Of sentiment, and it
is believed that when the bill is presented it
| will command every democratic vote.
| The question of a mortgage tax gives some
concern. Many Senators would prefer to
continue the mortgage exemption, but the
representatives from number of the counties
insist upon taxing the mortgages and insist
upon the tax going into the assessment bill
instead of running the gauntlet Of separate
bill, according to Mr.. Bankard's plan in the
House. It is likely that the same compromise
adopted by Mr.. Hayes in 1894 to meet this
demand will again prevail. In that bill there
was tax of eight per cent. on the revenue
from the mortgage, amounting TO between
forty and fifty cents on the hundred dollars.
II was also provided that where in existing
mortgages there is covenant for the mort
gagor to pay the tax he should get rebate to
the amount of the tax so paid on the taxation
of the mortgaged property.
The alleged harsh features of the Hayes
bill which was vetoed by Governor Brown in
1892 were modified in the Hayes bill as it
passed the Senate in 1894. There will be
further modification of some of its features
before it is again enacted. 1t may be stated
that this will be the bill which will pass the
Senate, and no other, unless this bill shall be
rejected by the House. Then the Senate will
consider any bill which the House may send
to it. Another democratic conference will
be held early next week, at which the com
mittee's bill will be discussed before being re-
ported to the Senate.
Mr.. Thomas G. Hayes has been asked to
prepare modification Of his assessment bill
containing the bonds calng feature upon the
basis of the valuation of n per cent. 81 900
bond at $500 and emitting the mortgage tax.
The assessment of a 81 900 per cent. bond
at $500 will bring the tax to about the Penn
sylvania rate and will so remove any reason
for carrying Maryland capital into that State.
The reassessment bill which was introduced
by Mr.. H. N. Bankard in the House of Dele
gates on Thursday has been carefully pre-
pared after number ofconferences with gem
tlemen interested in the subject In order
that there may be no question as to the con-
stitutionality of the reassessment, the general
reassessment bill will not contain any features
which might defeat reassessment. The bill,
therefore, follows in Its sections regarding the
property to be taxed and the exemptions the
provisions of the Hayes bill, except to make
more specific clauses for any intentional vio-
lations of its provisions. For example, the
provision regarding the taxation of trust es-
tates created in the hands of trust company
outside of the State of Maryland is carefully
guarded, and the bill taxes all such estates
here when there is any equitable interest re-
served to the grantor in the deed of trust or
any power of revocation in the deed,
The mortgage tax is not touched upon in
the general bill, but will be comprised in a
separate bill, to be shortly introduced as a
supplement. This will provide for the tax
alton of mortgages on the same sliding scale
as contemplated in the bond section.
The scaling section for bonds Of all kinds is
introduced in the separate hill as supple
ment to the original hill. 1t provides for
taxing per cent. bonds at 60 per cent. of
their face value, per cent, bonds at so per
cent Of their face value, per cent. bonds at
40 per cent. of their face value, and so on.
This is the identical provision fthe Hayes bill,
and its passage will be pushed with the origi-
nal assessment bill. 1t is only put in a sep
arate bill so that if the Court of Appeals
should declare it unconstitutional it will not
invalidate reassessment.
In administrative features of the general
reassessment bill radical changes are made
from the Hayes bill, and in fact from any
other assessment bill ever passed in Mary
land. The features of the assessment acts in
Pennsylvania, California, Indiana and other
| States have been introduced.
The listing feature has been retained in its
entirety, but without the inquisitorial features
which were objected to in the Hayes bill.
The listing is required of every person for all
their real as well as personal property, and
every individual will be required to put val
uation upon his own property. This valuation
will be used only as guide for the assessor
The number of assessors has been placed
at one for every election district in the State
in order that the work may be properly per-
formed In the city of Baltimore there will
be one assessor for every election precinct, or
1913 in all. Their pay is limited to So day,
not to exceed $3.50 for any assessor.
The striking feature of the hill is that all
appeals and revisions of the assessments will
| be made by the county commissioners of the
several counties and by the Appeal Tax Court
of Baltimore City.
An additional appeal tax court for Balti-
more city is also provided for. A majority
of the boards of county commissioners are at
present Democratic, and this plan will give
reassessment non-partisan basis.
The bill provides severe penalties for false
returns by any person, and is identical in
these particulars with the Pennsylvania law.
The listing feature for personal property is
made annual by the bill, and also power given
TO the county commissioners and the Appeal
Tax Court of Baltimore City to annually re.
| wise any assessment of real estate which they