The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-03-29
THE NEW STATE TAX LAW
Continued from First Page.l

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 Under this new law the board o1
 equalization fixed the taxable value oi
 the local banks as follows:
 First National-Capital, $500,000 tax
 rate, $50; amount of tax, T,500.
 Merchants National-Capital, $350,.
 900; tax rate, $55; amount of tax, $3,S50
 National New Haven-Capital, SAGA,
 800; tax rate, $1S0; amount of tax, $S,366 New Haven County-Capital, $3500O0; tax rate $15; amount of tax, $5,250
 Second National-Capital, $5OO,0Oo; tax rate, $1S5 amount of tax $9,250.
 Tradesmen's National-Capital, $500. 900; tax rate $145 amount of tax, $4,350
 Yale National-Capital, $500,000; tax
 rate, $120; amount of tax, $6,000.
 The par value of the Merchants Ma
 tiona is $50 per share, the New Haven County National S10 per share and of | the others $100 per share. It will be
 noticed that the list omits the City bank and Mechanics bank, as their stocks are non- taxable owing to their share losses in the old Pennington
 Canal about seventy years ago, No change in dividend rates was made in January by any of the banks paying 1 NllNlueIluS dL llcl ptl libNt. lC ipCeil | banks paying dividends in April and | October are the New Haven County and Yale. In October last the County paid | 31s per cent. on $350,000, or a dividend of $12,2 ,25O; the Yale 31a per cent on $500,000, dividend of $1750O. These dividends were the usual ones at the rate of ' per cent, making the annual distribution of $42, 300 for the County and $35,000 for the Yale Each bank in February had to pay to this state its tax for the whole year.
 There has been considerable specula- tion among holders of bank stocks as to the course to be pursued by the banks. Some holders have hoped that the cor porations would charge the whole tax to expense account and continue the former regular dividends Tn prosper ous years this might be dCne, though but little or no addition would in that case be made to the surplus account: in lean or bad financial years, of course, the dividends would have to be reduced the full amount of state tax, and per- haps more. The tendency would be to gradually diminish the surplus account, which certainly would not be conserva- tive banking
 The County and Yale National banks have each decided to reduce the annual dividends from to 6 per cent and will pay in April semi annual dividends of per cent, each, making the dividend payment of the County bank on April 10 s10,500 instead of s12,250 on October 10, 1901, reduction of $1,750 for six months, or $3,50O for the year As the state tax is $52 250 the balance of st ,750 will have to be charged to expense The Yale dividend of per cent. on April on S500,000 calls for $15.O0O instead of $17 800 last October, a reduction of $2,- 500 or $5,000 per year. As its state tax is $6000 the balance of s1 LOGO is a debit to expense account
 This decision will no doubt be satis- factory to the great majority of their stockholders. It virtually makes the stockholder pay tax of 1 per cent, or 10 mills, on the par value of his stock. the bank paying as an expense the tax on the market premium on it's capital. There are but few towns and no cities in Connecticut where the tax rate is as low as 10 mills, so that the stockholder, | under the new as compared with the old law, is as much bet ter off as the difference between ten mills and any higher rate of tax of the town or city in which he resides. These estimates may be slightly altered by the differ ence in local tax rates on the real estate that a bank may own.