The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1899-09-22

paSSeu ny tue Ley lsldluIe Ill lCJo uil IoI
meet the public demand, and the supple
mental bills, demanded by Gov Lowndes
at the command of corporate influences as
a condition precedent to his signing the
act, made it worse. Instead of making
wealth pay its just proportion of the pub
lie burden the law deliberately exempts it.
Under one of the supplementary acts
bonds, certificates of Indebtedness and
market value and taxed at the regular rate
70, State purposes and at thirty cents, and
no more, on the 800 for county, municipal
and city purposes. Baltimore city gets
the whole thirty cents, but, under decis
isn of the Court of Appeals, every county
has to give to each incorporated city or
town in the county one-half of the tax
collected on this clsss of property in the
city or town, thus cutting off the revenue
for county purposes. And another class
of property, such as stock, upon which no
dividend was paid in the assessment year,
was exempted from any taxation at all.
Under this provision it was an easy matter
for companies and corporations not to pass
dividends in order that their stock could
escape taxation. Farms are taxed whether
they yield revenue or not, and so are
tenantless houses, stores and offices.
Farming lands AID town and city property
are assessed at their cash value, and the
assessors adhered pretty. closely to the
valuation of 1876, when there had been a
great depreciation by 1896 1t is said in
structions were given to assessors to keep
up the basis, as considerable reduction
and consequent increase of the tax rate
would seriously act upon the Republi-
can party. While bonds, certificates of
Indebtedness and evidences of debt pay
but 80 cents on the 500 of their market
value, real property is taxed at $500 in
Baltimore city and from As cents in Car
roll, which has the lowest county tax rate,
to $1.124 in Somerset, which has the high
est, and six of the counties have rate of
$1.00 or more.
Mortgages are a favorite security in this
vested in them. One of the demands of
the people was that mortgages should be
taxed. The Republican legislature of
1896 inserted a provision for taxing them
in the assessment law, section TAG A.
Money invested in mortgages is mostly
surplus money-money not needed in &C
tual business>or in running farm. 1t is
essentially wealth, and yet the legislature
was very considerate in taxing wealth in
vested in mort cages. Holders are required
to pay eight per cent. of the gross income,
two per cent. going to the State and six
per cent. for county purposes where the
holders reside. A $1,000 mortgage, bear
ing six per cent, would yield $4.sO-$1 20
going to the State and $500 to the county
where the holder resides
This mortgage tax is another discrimi-
ration in favor of wealth as patent as is
the discrimination in favor of bonds
The income from a $4,000 mortgage
would yield a tax of $4S in Baltimore or
in any county in the State. The tax on a
$4,000 house in Baltimore would be 5000
for city purposes, and for State purposes,
$17.75, or total of $s17.75. This is
discrimination in favor of the holder of
the mortgage of $16975 in taxes.
When there is no income from mort
gage no taxes are paid, but taxes have to
be paid upon the more than 1000 tenant
l,,,1 Il:
same is true of tenantless houses, stores,
and offices in the towns and other cities
of the State
81 900 mortgage will pay a tax, pro-
vided there is six per cent. income, of
$3.50. A $1,000 farm pays county and
State tax in Carroll of $685., and much
higher rate in every other county, reach
ing the highest point in Somerset, where
the tax is $11.s5.
Not only is the law discriminating in its
provisions in favor Of wealth, but it is full
of antiquities and is differently construed
throughout the State The Democrats of
the Senate, particularly, made a strong
effort to have il fair and equitable law, but
they were outvoted aud had to sanction
the act and the supplementary bills or be
placed in the attitude of having accom-
plished the defeat of an assessment law
The law is failure entirely in meeting
public expectation. The assessors seem to
have nursed their jobs, as the assessment
cost fully sixty per cent, more than the as
sessment of 1876. The cost in few coun-
ties will Illustrate ths:-The cost of assess
ment in Dorchester county in 1876 was
$500. The cost in 1896 was $1,000 In
Washington county in 1876 the cost was
S1,S35.25, and in 1896 $50, 6o2.51. In
Prince Georges county in 1876 s., 591 80,
and in 1896 S12 ,G1GG6 In Wicomico So
900 in 1876, and 81 ,943 SO in 1896 In Car
roll in 1876 $S,011, in 1896 nearly Sl3, GOO
In Allegany in 1876 5000, in 1896 So
1921.
The assessment was stretched out over
seven months in the counties and much
onger in the city of Baltimore. The new
basis was first used in 1897, and the very
next year over 100000 had been taken
from the books. The table below will
show the basis in 1896 and in 1898. 1t
will be seen that the increase was about
500 ,0G0, 900, about all of it in Baltimore
city.
ASSESSED VALUE OF REAL AID Personal
PROPERTY.