Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1907-05-03
AVERAGE RATE OF INTEREST.

1t viii be observed that the rate OF
interest did not rise in New York by
quite a full half per cent. This was
because the interest rate in New York,
prior to the 1905 law, was somewhat
increased by the liability of mort
cages to taxation as personal property.
The falling off of the amount Of
money loaned was very great in the
county of New York.
In 1906 the law was so amend
ed as to provide for one single
tax at that time of record, imposed on
all mortgages recorded on and after
July 1, 1906. All mortgages made on
and after that date have been liable
to a single recording tax of one-half
of one per cent, and are thereafter
exempt from all other taxation. The
effect Of this change in the law i'm
mediately appeared both in the de-
cline in the rate of interest and in
the increase in. the amount of money
loaned. 1 present the figures for the
first six months of the operation Of
the new law in New York county and
the figures for the corresponding
period of 1905 for comparison:
Loaned of Int.
July 1 to Dec. 81, 1905 s1O1, ,159.B5S 5.54
July 1 to Dec 81. 1906 222, ,559,466 5.1S
During the last six months of 1906 a
mortgage for $780, 100000 at Az per cent
was recorded, but this is not included in
the above amount nor in the computation
of the rate of interest.
All these statistics were made up in the
following way: The total amount of
mortgages recorded at each rate of in
terest was separately stated and the in
terest computed at that rate The total
interest charge on all the mortgages was
computed and then divided by the
amount of money loaned. These statis-
tics abundantly prove that every obsta-
Gle placed between the borrower and
lender of money and any burden placed
upon the transaction must fall ultimately
upon the borrower of money
The old law in the state of New York
was most unjust to those dependent upon
estates in trust, because trustees We're
limited In their Investments to mortgages
on real estate, and nominally all such es-
tates were fully assessed and taxed. 1t
was common for one-haf of the income
of n trust estate to be confiscated by taxa
alton. The annual mortgage tax law Of
1905 relieved lenders of this fearful bur-
den, but IL imposed cerlulH cHdTBe OF
one-half OF / per cent on borrowers, in
addition to the economic rate of interest
While the present recording law is not
theoretically just because 1t imposes
some additional burden on those who
borrow, 1t is infinitely to be preferred to
the greater burden of the annual tax. or
10 the burden on borrowers imposed by
the liability OF mortgages 10 taxation as
personal property. and the awful hljus-
tice to such lenders. chiefly widows and
orphans, who were caught with mort
cages In their possession, and suffered
the conhscation OF large share OF their
iucome.
The revenue from the recording tax
aurlng the first six months amounted to
t2,333.s17.
LAWSON PURDY.
President. Department Taxes ana AS
sessments, city of New York.
Notice.-Ohio readers OF the above
! article win find in It practical and sub
Btantial reason why they should work
for an amendment TO the Ohio constitu-
tion that viii make II possible for tho
people Npf Ohio. especially borrowers OF
money 10. enjoy the advantages Nav
York is Obtaining from its mortgage re-
cordins taxi law