The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-02
WILL MAGUIRE ExPLAIN7

IA hscation by single tax is put III issue by his
II candidacy Judge Mcguire said that only I22
per cent OF the land in this State now belongs to
farmers and that they pay so per cent OF the taxes
while under the single tax they would pay only ~
per cent of the taxes, because the exemption OF their
Improvements would amount to vastly more thah the
increased tax their land.
The State Board of Equalization from time to
time issues report Of the assessment of the various
kinds OF property, The last OF these reports at hand
is that for 1894, which in considering Judge
Mcguire defense of land conhscation by single tax
By that report the value of country real estate was
5000 .3sz and of city and town real estate
$500 48T.523.
The value of improvements country real estate
was $62o2 I45 city and town real estate $751;
SOL o26 The values OF country real estate and inn
provements and city real estate and Improvements,
then compare as follows
City real estate Improvements. ........ 1S1Ss1s26
Total s5o2 373 449
f,onntrI,. rea1 estate 1894 9o2 1857
Country real estate improvements. 2s221
Total ........... $457 s24 5O2
1t will be SEEN then that city real estate and its
improvements pay on an assessment exceeding that
OF country real estate and Improvements by S44548,
o4z and it will be SEEN too, that Magures statement
that 1919 per OF country land pays so per cent OF
all the taxes is obviously false, since country realty
and its improvements together is assessed S4454o,o47
less than city real estate and its Improvements, and
the State tax borne by each is levied equally the same
number of cents to the dollar on their valuation
When it comes TO the taxation OF towns and cities
their real estate and its improvements have to bear
the State and county tax the same as country prop
erty but must carry top of that also the city or
town tax which frequently amounts to more than
both the others This fact adds more to the fasity
OF Maguires statement that I21a per cent of the land
belonging to farmers pays so per cent OF all the tax
since the farm land does participate in city and
town taxation at all
Now let us see how the farmer will stand when
Maguire's land confscation is accomplished and all
improvements on real estate and all personal property
are exempted from taxation. The improvements and
personal property assessment was as follows:
improvements of country real estate. 62s2214
Improvements of city real estate 1S1 S91 926
Personal property 1bSl04 600
Total s4O7 GIT III
Hence the tax formerly borne by $4o7,oI7;III OF
property will be lifted from and dropped upon the
land When this is done, the farmers will have es-
capped tax on their $62o22I45 of Improvements, but"
the city real estate owners will have escaped tax
their $I8I $4,000 of improvements. OF the personal
property one-third is in the country and two-thrds
is in the towns and cities The tax exemptions will
compare as follows:
+ :..: COUNTRY OWNERS
Exempt improvements .....:.....:.:....s 629 145
Exempt personal property. .:.,...:.....: 54552025
~ ---- -----
CITY. OWNERS ....>-
Exempt Improvements $751; S91 1926
Exempt personal property: 1O9 1o4O50
Total ....:...:........ $3.50 1885, s76
When all this is done the whole tax will be left to
fall on land and will fall hardest country land,
as shown by the assessment
Country real estate 1898 soz,95
City and town real estate ..-......... S204Sl,523
With the Improvements and personal property ex-
epted the State levy for 1894 would have been
10 cents the hundred raise the required Of
$55II634, that the country real estate would have
paid three millions in State and city real
estate only about millions 1t will be seem them,
that Judge Magure's statement that when land is
confscaed by the single tax the former will pay only
per of the is just false that he pays
so per cent now for at the existing assessment
try. land will pay more State tax than it pays now.
1t will be in order for Judge Mcguire to make
a lightning change by showing the farmers how he
is going to stick the city landowners for 90 per cent
of all the taxes.
AN ULTIMATUM NEEDED