Daily Kennebec journal., 1903-01-14

the school fund Outside of the State
tax imposed upon the real and personal
wealth of Maine this tax is the largest
which comes into the public treasury.
The total State tax in 1902 was $907,-
350.9S. The tax on savings banks was
| $4,000. In 1872 the tax, on the
savings banks was $119,767.5S. This
| was the first year these
institutions were taxed. The amount
of this tax grew as the years
went by, and in 1882 the tax was $203,-
| 55O.01. In 1892 it was 1854, 1926, while
this year it has grown to $537000. In
30 years this is a big gain to the State
n one species of revenue. Whether it
| will continue to increase in the future
as it has in the past is of course a mat
i ter for time to determine, but that this
unusual growth has been of incalcul-
able benefit to the public schools is an
| undisputed fact.
! The question of reducing the tax on
savings banks by the present Legisla
ture is one of the problems of the
| hour. 1t is one of the measures that
is more generally discussed than any
other outside of controlling the waters
of the Penobscoti river, building an
addition to the Eastern Maine Insane
| asylum, esta blisliing a Normal school
! in PresQue Isle, and imposing tax
| upon nonresident hunters of large
game. One of the principal objections
J. to a reduction of this tax comes from
members who fear that its enactment
Iwould cause loss to the schools of
| the State. They say that One-half of
| the bank tax goes to the school fund
Reduce the tax 100000 and the schools
will lose $4,000, say the objectorS. Re-
duce it still more and the loss will fan
upon the towns, - of the State 1t
| is hard to offset this argument
and the advocates of the cutting
down of the savings bank tax
have found it difficult to counter
act this plausible excuse offered by
members as a reason why they oppose
such reduction as is contemplated.
But Portland representative, one of
the best informed members of the
Legislature, has solved the problem.
| He says that in order to overcome this
| objection it is only necessary to in
corporate in the law imposing re-
duced tax upon the banks a provision
that two-thirds of the same shall go to
money now goes to the schools.
This year it amounts to $26S, S,000
The Portland member says that
if the tax is reduced 100000, I'M
der the new plan, which would be
fair estimate, by giving the school
fund a larger share of the tax income,
even if it reached two thirds of the
whole, this fund would in no wise be
reduced by reduction in the bank
| tax. Thus the schools of Maine would
not be affected. although the general
resources of the State would be called
upon to make uD the loss caused by
such reduction. 1t would merely be
another way of making the State as
sumo a larger share of the expenses of
! maintaining the common schools of
Maine than it now bears. but it would
| bring q relief to the savings banks,
which is just what the banks are seek
| ing to accomplish. The schools would
lose nothing, the banks would gain,
but the State would be out just SO
much cash with which to meet its
obigations and cut down it's funded
debt.
Out of the total State tax of $907,-
950.9S assessed against the wealth of
| Maine in 1902 the sum of $3.50, ,2S0.II
goes back to the various cities and
| towns against which the taxes We're
assessed This shows that the whole
of the real and personal estate in the
State of Maine pay into the State
treasury to assist in carrying on the
business of the State the net sum of
$317 ,67O21 for the year 1902. If from
this sum should be taken the amounts
appropriated for the return of the
railroad tax on account of stock
owned in various municipalities, the
sums contributed for charitable insti-
tutions, for academies and other in
stitutes of learning, for general hos
pitals and asylums for the insane
and for other public purposes it would
be seen that the actual support of the
State government does not come from
direct taxation but from the corporate
wealth of the State. The taxes upon
| savings banks the railroads, the tele-
phone and telegraph companies, the
expresses. the trust and banking COM
panies. the organization and franchise
tax on general corporations, the in
sllrarce companies doing business in
the State. the parlor and sleeping cars
and the collateral inheritances furn-
ish the revenue with which the great
wheels of the State government are
kent in motion. If it were not for
these invaluable sources of income
the people of the State would be