The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1906-05-10

OF this Legislature ana nave D6en Tor
many years, belonging to the third
House-those men and the attorneys
for the railroads came before the
committee and they put forth every
argument that they could to the com
mittee as to why the tax should not
be increased And say to you Mr..
| Speaker and gentlemen of the House,
| there was not one valid reason given
and not one claim made, with one eX
ception, but what the roads were
amply able To pay the tax as propos
| ed, not one.
| cannot 90 over all these various
roads, some 10 of them, | cannot go
! into the details of all of them. The
roads most affected in this State
would be the Boston & Maine, the
| Grand Trunk, the Canadian Pacific,
! the Maine Central and the Portland
| q Rumford Falls.
The Boston & Maine, the Grand
Trunk, the Maine Central and the
| Portland & Rumford Falls roads are
! the only ones that would pay more
than 4 per cent. The Boston q Maine,
the Maine Central and the Portland
& Rnmford Falls under the law as it
now exists pay per cent. Your
committee on taxation made minor
itv and majority report. The minori-
ty report was signed by two members
| of that committee, the majority re
port by six and they amended the
| bill and cut down the limit from 10
per cent of the gross transportation
receipts TO per cent. While l state
to YOU that believe the bill was alb
solutely right as it was drawn, yet
agreed that | would accept the report
| of the minority of that committee
and present this matter to you on
their report and ask this House to ac-
cept the minority report, increasing
! the tax after $500 on each $3.50 in
crease of gross transportation re
ceipts per mile one fourth of one per
cent. Now, take the Boston q Maine
railroad. Their gross transportation
earnings per mile is S14,5S5. The
rate upon which they are taxed now
is per cent of their gross transpor-
tation receipts in the State. Their
tax as it now exists is sol, SAG. Their
tax would be, il you accept the mi
nority report and this bill should be-
come a law. their tax would be 6 per
cent upon their gross transportation
receipts within the borders of Maine,
and it would make their tax Sl37,-
770. %, a gain or all increase i'll their
taxes of $45, 923.4O.
Now can they afford it? Is it right
or is it just that they should pay this
additional amount? The question for
YOU to consider is, would it be just to
the Boston 4 Maine Railroad Com
pany to have them pay into the State
treasury of Maine additional taxes to
the amount of $40, 900? Let us see.
According to their own report, and
according to this table az taken from
their report, under the proposed bill,
adding the SIS 900 to their tax, they
will then only pay one-fourth the
rate of taxes that they would pay if
their property was assessed like yours
and like mine. Under the proposed
bill, if it becomes law, if their prop
erty was taxed upon its assessed
value, the value that they return in
their report to the treasurer of the
State of Maine, they would then, with
the advanced tax of S45, 900, only pay
one fourth of what you pay upon
your farm and upon your stock. Is
there anything unjust in that? Is the
Boston & Maine Railroad corporation
corporation or institution that is
poor? Is it Il corporation that is not
as able to pay taxes as you and / are
able to pay taxes in our several local
tiles? What is their stock worth on
the market today? One hundred and
seventy five dollars to one hundred
and eighty dollars per share, the par
value being 500. What do they pay
for dividends to their stockholders?
Seven per cent annually on their
common, and six on their preferred
stock. Now. ask you, Mr.. Speaker
and Gentlemen, is there any man
here who owns any bank stock in the
State of Maine? If there is one, you
know what your rate of tax is in
your respective towns or cities. You
get about per cent dividends on
your bank stock. Perhaps some of
YOU get seven. But what is the rate
of taxation on that bank stock? 1t is
the value of that stock taxed at par,
or little above par, according to the
rate that other property pays i'll your
town; and if you get 6 per cent on
your bank stock, you pay into your
town treasury, every man OF you who
owns a dollar of that stock, 81 out of
that six, according to the rate of tax
alton In your town. You pay 80 per
cent of your income on your bank
stock in taxation into the town where
Won live. The Boston Il Maine Rail |
road. doing business in this State, |
pavs about one fourth of that amount |
under this proposed bill. | ask you |
if there is any injustice in that? | ask |
the farmer and the householder, upon |
your property i'm your respective !
. Ia