Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1906-09-13

on his rear 0cldtS'
only such part of the mortgage IL
d~ebtedness can be applied in Offset as
will suffice TO cover his taxable per
sonal property. No record Of me
balance is commonly made.
To ilusnate:-Few men purchase
farms unless they have capital enough
to p1y down for the stock and tools
and also make a small initial payment
on the farm itself, mortgaging for the
balance. Mr.. Smith has $500 and
buys a farm, listed AZ $1,000, for
$500. He puts $500 into stock, slO0
into tools, and makes a first payment
OF 5000 on the place, giving the seller
"a mortgage back for s23O0.
This is the way it is often done
when the seller wants to sell badly and
the buyer has limited capital. Now
the seller is taxed on the $500 mort
gage notes wherever he happens TO re-
side. Smiths stock and tools are APP
praised at say $500, and the farm goes
into the list against him at $1,000,
making a total list, real and personal,
of S25O0. Under the law at present,
smith can Offset $500 of his mortgage
Indebtedness against the $500 Of per-
sonal property-stock and tools-that
he has, thus leaving only the farm
taxed 10 him at $1,000. He evades tax
alton on $500 worth Of personal prop
erty through his mortgage indebted
ness on his real estate. The difference
between $780, the actual Indebtedness,
and $1,000, the portion OF the indebted
ness taxed to the debtor, or $500, es-
capes double taxation through Cd the
under-appraisal Of the property and
O. the privilege the borrower has OF
oflsetting so much Of his owings as
will serve to cancel MS personal es-
tate. So that $1,000, and not $1,000 or
$500, is the sum actually taxed twice.
The town clerks records viii not
show the true condition OF mortgage
Indebtedness, because they ordinarily
contain merely the original mortgage
entries which stand thus until fully
discharged, giving little intimation as
to whether the Indebtedness is being
retired, or whether interest is accru-
ing. The tax inventories OF the mort
gagees are also unreliable, as they
frequently fail 10 include all their
loans, and seldom or never specify 10
whom they have loaned, or how much
of il is secured by mortgage. Besides,
much OF the mortgage Indebtedness "a
held by savings banks and other dnan-
cial concerns, which do not furnish de-
tailed statements so that the individual
debts a be traced and checked or TO
the mortgagors. And still further, no
returns can be had from the mort
gagees that reside without the state.
To get at the actual total Of doubly
taxed real estate, it would be neces.
sary to secure, probably through the
listers by special inquiry made on
their regular rounds, a definite state
ment from each mortgaged landholaer
OF how much his total Indebtedness
amounted to- how much of il was
covered by mortgage notes. and to
whom he vas so indebted. This
with the other returns OF the inven-
tory, would give the required data.
1t may be that dependable figures in
a measure approximate can be secured
in some other way and thus be avail
able at the coming session, but If not.
and in case it should be deemed best
not to leap into the dark, the plan here
outlined If formulated into a legal in
quiry, would serve the purposes OF the
next following session, which would
thus be prepared to act With more in
t~elligence, because with fuller infor
nation.