The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1908-01-23
POINTS OUT INIQUITIES.
Tax Commission Writes Harshly
About Inequalities.

Tax Commission Writes Harshly
About inequalities.
In the report of the Tax Commission
Of Ohio submitted to the legislature
by Governor Harris. this strong con-
demnatOry language is used in dis
cussing the iniquities of the present
tax system:
First-It Furnishes the honest. The
taxpayer who undertakes to make a
full return of his cash, credits. stocks
and bonds, is bound to return them
at their true value in money and this
value is apparent or so easily aScer-
tainable in most cases as to permit
no difference of opinion. A deposit in
| a solvent bank can not be worth less
than par; a note with good security
b. way of mortgage, or otherwise, is
worth its face value; while bond or
share Of stock has generally a fixed
market price. To list these classes
Of property at less than their value
would be as plain violation OF the
law as not to list them at all, and
yet if the owner returned them for
| taxation and they were subjected to
the prevailing rate, he would pay sew
eral times as much taxes as the own
er of tangible property. which had
been assessed at far less than its
true value in money. and in many
cases all his profits from such invest
ments would be confisCated by the
public authority. 1t is well known
that with an average tax rate in most
Ohio cities of from 3 to per cent,
the owner of cash in bank or of first
class industrial bonds, or of standard
stock in foreign corporation would
thus. in some instances not only be
deprived of all returns upon his in
vestment but would pay fine in ad-
dition for the privilege of such own
ership.
Second-It rewards the dishonest
A taxpayer who cares more for his
property than he does for his oath will
not include, in any return of his own
making, property which he can easily
hide and the existence of which no
methods have yet been devised which
are adequate to reveal.
Third-It results frequently in dou-
Bile taxation. This may not be true
with respect to all intangible prop
erty, but an indisputable case OF dou'
BILE taxation is found in the attempt
to tax. at the same rate and by the
same methods, both land and the
mortgage upon it. If "A" owning a
farm worth $4,000 bOrrows $4,000
upon it he is required to pay taxes
under the present laws of Ohio ON
the full value of the farm, while "B"
who loans the money pays taxes on
the $4,000 mortgage. This is not only
double taxation, but it imposes the
burden upon one who can least afford
to bear it, for the owner Of the land
not only continues to pay taxes on
its full value but he pays an amount
of interest on the mortgage which is
computed upon the assumption that
such mortgage is taxable. In other
words, the borrower pays higher
rate of interest than he would if the
mortgage were not subject to taxa
ton. and this despite the fact that
the mortgage is generally concealed
by the mortgage. A further result
of this taxation of land and mort
cages at the same rate is discrim-
inatiOn against citizens of Ohio and
in favor Of citizens of other states. A
resident of this state who lends
money secured by mortgage in Ohio
is taxed upon the credit thus created,
whereas a nonresident, such as for
eign insurance company, is not taxed
upon any Indebtedness to him Sc
cured by mortgage upon land in this
state
Fourth-It is unjust to the owners
of all other property. The escape
from taxation of fully 90 per cent of
all intangible property, which is un-
doubtedly going on in Ohio today. i'll
creases by exactly its share the bur
den upon the owners Of other prop
erty and particularly the owners of
real estate which may be, and gen
orally is, assessed for taxation DelOW
its true market value, but which. un-
der no circumstances. can altogether
avoid the duplicate.
Fifth--It lowers the standard Of in
tegrity. And this is the gravest com
plaint that can be brought against
the present sN9tem. If the attempt
to tax intangible property by the
same methods as those which apply
to other ferns OF property We're a
material benefit to the state which it
is not, instead OF material injury,
which it is. such benefit could never
compensate fer the deplorable intiu-
Cn"0 upon he moral sense of COM
muAi,ies that results from knowl-
edge that f:'S returns for taxation
are made BY citizens generally.