The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1907-05-30
TAX INEQUALITIES
Mayor Tom [. Johnson Points Them
Out to Tax Commission.
Suggests That Constitutional obstruc.
tons Should Be RemoVed-DOuble
Taxation is Not Fair.

tons should Be RemoVed-D0uble
Taxation is Not Fair.
Before the Tax Commission of
Ohio, March -, last, Mayor Tom l..
Johnson of Cleveland discussed Taxa,
tion" as follows:
The greatest difficulty in our taxing
laws is that we have followed the old
plan, which has grown into a lot of
inequalities. They are present every
where. There is no community, no
matter how small, that is not suffer
ing by the fact that some of the prop
erty is assessed at 10 and some at 100
per cent of its value; and to the ex.
tent that is true some men pay ten
times more than their share of taxes
while other men pay only one-tenth
of their share.
know piece of property, acquired
lately, where the tax duplicate was
only s per cent Of the price paid; not
u forced price either. | could multiply
that example by thousands. You can
not go into a city, into county or
any small district but you find these
illustrations.
Everybody agrees there are Unequal
tiles. What produces them? You
can't trace 1t all to one reason; but
there are some leading reasons to ac-
count for it, A street railroad was
sold on the market at ten million dol
lars No doubt about its value; the
stock was quoted regularly, 1t was
assessed for 100000, or per cent.
''en millions of property owned by
small owners, homes, factories and
shops, not tAe worst cases, but the
average CasAs of small owners, stand
on the duplicate at six million, or 60
per cent. The reason for that discrep-
ancy is perfectly plain. Thousands of
people owned the ten million dollars
IN small places; none of them had a
sufficient interest to give his own time
or employ anyone's else time to look
after the tax duplicate, to either go
before the legislature or employ in
genious arguments to defeat the as
SCISSOR in arriving at conclusion or
to defend by technicalities any mis-
step made by the assessors. All these
were concentrated in one case, and
they were scattered in the other.
What is the business of all is not any
ones business.
Taxation of Banks.
will give you an illustration which
looks a little on the other side where
very big interest, controlled by compare
lively few men. is truly the highest tax
payer of the state. Now, we consider
the banks of the state are represented
by more than representative men; the
bank directors are business men, wide
awake; they look to their own interest;
yet the bank capital of this state Is as
sessed at about 60 per cent of its value.
while the railroads are assessed about 10
per cent of their value | gave you an
illustration of only per cent In the
case of street railroad. So that the
bank seems to be a case where a power
ful interest, controlled by powerful peO-
pie have never been able to get their
share of exemption from taxation. Now
the reason for that is that the bank deals
In dollars; it deals in figures that they
can not juggle. So that | draw two con-
ClusonS; the nearer the tax machinery
can be made public, the more people can
see it, the better it works. The bank
does not escape because it is in public
view.
Constitutional DISTINCTIONS.
would take away every restriction
from the legislature and allow them to
do Just what they wish. | don't believe
In constitutional restrictions, so that
people think, when they have adopted
baI 10
and let some one else run their govern
ment for them.
If | could write the plan of taxation
for the state of Ohio l would propose
that each locality should have the power
within it's own limits to levy and collect
all the taxes they want. When the state
comes to raise its revenue: If there is
some thing like steam railroads that go
all over the state, have these assessed
for the states expenses. for the general
purpose Of the state If that is insufficient,
supplement it by putting on each county
tax in proportion to the amount of
money they collect for their tax; that is
Of contributing according to the amount
Of money they spend.
Double Taxation.
It Is not wise to tax piece of property
and also tax the deed thereto; and that
is just what you do when you tax either
the bonds or the stocks. If you have a
deed to a pi ce of property and that
property is subject to taxation, it pays
its full share no matter where 1t Is. In
other words, when you tax the evidence
of ownership of property to that extent
1t is double taxation. | do not think
state bonds and city bonds should be
taxed, you don't tax court houses and
schools.
Under the Ohio law, If you own stock
in an Ohio corporation, you are exempted
from paying taxes because the property
being in Ohio is supposed to pay the tax
If you. as a citizen of Ohio. own stock in
a corporation In Pennsylvania, notwith-
standing the property in Pennsylvania
pays, you are expected to pay again in
Ohio. l think this is vicious, think that
attempt to build fence around the state
of Ohio to hold Ohio property in, keeps
property from coming in.
Taxation Of Money.
The question OF exempting money is
the hardest one to answer. OF course,
| don't really think money is thing you
can tax or that you ought to tax; for 1t
is the most Improbable thing Elen have,
and yet everybody wants 1t. In itself 1t
yields nothing. ! would not tax money
for the same reason that | would tax
dogs. ] think most communities like to
have money come in. They tax the dogs
to keep them out. The cash on hand
that banks hold ought not to be taxed.
don't see any object in taxing money,
mere government money, paper repre-
senting tile debt the government owes
you. 1t ought not to be taxed.
Home Rule In Taxation.
believe home rule in taxation Is the
greatest subject we have. think more
depends on ii than mere justice to the
taxpayer. That is the moral part of the
taxation subject. What you are really
discussing is bigger than that. At the
bottom of the taxation question is the
one that is going to solve the labor prob
lem, the question of the slums; it is the
big moral side of the taxation question,
For just as certain as we adopt a ra-