The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1903-10-01
EXCESS INTEREST PAID IN OHIO
ON ACCOUNT OF TAXA
TON METHODS.

H AlNhLh EDlNhlNO - w nut eAlIH
H interest have the people of Ohio
paid in 20 years past on account
of the supposed taxation of mort
cages and credits?
Lawyer Thorndike-The Ohio statis-
ties of mortgages, recorded each year
in Ohio, for the past 20 years, are
worthless because Hamilton county
did not report in seven years OF that
time. Knox, Pike and Highland are
left out each one year in that time, and
so the statistics are not complete. In
1883 the entire mortgages on real es-
tate in Ohio in force, exclusive of rail-
roads, were $3.50, ,999 2057S. Assuming
these figures for the 20 years prior to
1903 to be uniform, and that the an
nual charge for the risk of taxation
was 1A per cent which statisticians
figure out as the rule in California,
where mortgages are taxed separately,
the debtors in Ohio in the past 20
years have paid out $1,05S, ,496, 2194S in
excess interest which they would not
have paid had mortgages and credits
not been taxed, or rather threatened
to be taxed
do not have the return of credits
for 1888 before me, but the returns
for 1890 will answer the purpose They
were Sill ,315. Assuming that these
credits were mortgages, over two
thirds of the mortgages on record paid
no taxes.
Farmer Perkins, fully believe that
gay fellow farmers and are more
hsavily taxed than any other class in
Cae community, and how are we to
tacape it or divide our burden with
other classes?
Lawyer Thorndike--There is no way
to escape it except by the adoption Of
the pending constitutional amendment,
allowing the legislature freedom in
the methods and subjects of taxation.
So long as the state raises any part
of its taxes by ad valorem leves on
the duplicates of the countless so long
will there be rivalry between the
several counties to determine which
can secure the lowest appraisement OF
real estate. The county which can Sc
cure the lowest will throw much of the
state tax on the other counties of the
state
The real estate being appraised once
in 10 years, there is a scramble be-
tween the SS counties in the state in
that year to see which can secure the
lowest appraisement for the coming
decennial period.
The shifting, turning and trading in
hn o. nrI i,
state and to the people. Each county
is trying to have the lowest valuation
in the state, and throw its burden OF
state taxation for ten years, on the
other counties.
If the state had distinct, exclusive
objects, from which to raise it's rev.
enue, the scramble between the coun-
ties to secure low valuations would
cease, each county would manage its
own affairs in tax matters The low
rate of valuation in the cities and the
consequent high per cent of taxes
would disappear. Our cities and vii
lagos would cease to groan under 8 per
cent taxes, and wealth would accumu-
late. This is the plan in Pennsylvania
since 1873, and it has worked well.
Real estate in the whole United
States is appraised for taxation at Al
per cent of its real value. Personal
property valued at $25,492, $40, 1854 in
the census of 1890 was appraised for
taxation at S6,516 GIG TAB, about % per
cent, but deducting mines and quarries
from the personality, S1,291,579, it is
taxed for % $40 per cent of its real
value.
The lesson of this is that no per-
sonal property should be returned at
over % $40 per cent Of its real
value. In Ohio in 1890 it was
returned at 80 per centum of its
real value Just think of the 161a per
cent the people of Ohio returned more
than the other states.
The state tax of Ohio for 1902 was
$2,6S7, ,252.95. Each county is required
to bear its portion, ad valorem. ac-
cording to it's duplicate. The lower the
duplicate the less the payment of the
state tax. The proportion of this tax
for 1902 for Cuyahoga county was
S310,G3L17; for Hamilton, S34O SO;
for Franklin, S122,O5161; for Lucas.
S100,17722; for Montgomery, 93,379.-
CT; or nearly half was paid by five
counties. Vinton county paid the
smallest, $469S07. This state tax was
13 per cent of the entire grand dupli-
cate. There has been and is a con-
slant strife by the smaller counties TO
reduce their valuation, to throw the
greater weight of the state taxation
on the wealthier and more populous
counties.
There were 10 cities in the state of
Ohio in 1902. Their total valuation in
that year was SSS9362G42, and the
taxes in the same year were $26,411.-
963.50, over per centum. In the 20
cities in the state in 1902, the taxes in
90 were over 3 per centum, 43 were
between and 8 per centuIh aud only
one was between l and per centum.
Newberg, in Cuyahoga county, had the
lowest tax rate, 1877. and Nelsonville.
in Athens county, had the highest,
ASS, The valuations of the cities are
rs low as they can be MAJ :, and this