Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1908-12-23


ton in the case Of this class Of bonds.
The proper administration of State, coun-
~ and municipality requires not only
citizens to discharge the duties Of certain
0mces, but also money for improvements.
Both men and money are equally necessary,
Doth are agencies for the maintenance OF
the government. The money loaned q
town is performing service as necessary
in the administration OF the town AZ the
services rendered by the selectmen, and
neither should be taxed for the assistance
rendered
To all intents and purposes the stocks
and bonds OF corporation are merely
evidences of ownership in its property
and should be treated alike for taxation.
II the corporation itself pays taxes on all
Its property within the State, we can see
no sound reason why the individual own
ers should be subject to further tax,
whether the particular ownership Is rep
resented by a certificate Of stock or by
bond.
The present law If stringently admins
tered would result in gross injustice.
We think it is unjust and !nequitsble"
to exempt from taxation class Of securi-
ties yielding large annual return and to
tax another class in the same corporation,
yielding smaller income. 1t would seem
that il either class is to be taxed it should
be the one yielding the larger returns.
- sss DOUBLE TAXATION"
Mortgage credits are taxable to the
mortgage as ''money at interest,". The
more seriously we study this subject, the
more strongly are we convinced that any
tax upon mortgage credit results in
double taxation.
The total amount OF ssmoney at interest"
taxed locally, according to the report OF
the State assessors for the year 1907, is
III 1876 $50.
have q class OF property taxable as
ssmoney ct interest" amounting to more
than $4,000, 900, listed at III, AZ, 666, or
scout 10 per cent, of the estimated amount
that ID BY law taxable. Do not these
figures prove conclusively that the present
law which attempts to tax this class OF
property is an utter failure?
Careful examination OF the statistics
from the different registries OF deeds, the
amounts actually listed BY the assessors,
and information gathered from the records
of probate courts and other sources, forces
us to the conclusion that the tax on this
class Of property is unjust and inequitabie
inasmuch as there is not the semblance Of
uniformity in taxing the owners thereof.
In Maryland "intangibles" are taxed at
very low rate. This is called the "Balti-
more PLAN.
We recommend that the legislature give
serious consideration to The Baltimore plan
for the taxation OF bonds and other forms
Of credit not specifically discussed herein.
Viewing the subject in its entirety, for
the various reasons stated-we recommend
that our State, county and municipal
bonds, together with the bonds OF such
corporations as pay an ad valOreuh pro-
perty tax, and credits secured by mortgage,
be exempt from local taxation.
The tables further show that during the
last ten years there have been recorded trust
deeds securing bond issues amounting to
$685., 1853, S12. This makes grand total OF
ITO, 1873 mortgages amounting to $a78, 719 $50
recorded in Maine during the last ten
years. To compensate for the loss in reve-
nue. sustained from this inequitabie and
i'll administered tax, we have already
recommended an inheritance tax, which is
easily administered, and we also recon-
| mend a recording tax, similar to the tax
| in force in New York. We cannot state
exact results to be expected from such a
| tax since q certain portion of recorded
mortgages, especially those securing bond
issues, include property outside OF THE
! State, and there are certain Implications
OF mortgages recorded in several counties.
/, We recommend that the law permit the
recording anew of mortgages now in force,
and that all mortgages and bonds secured
| by trust deeds recorded be exc npt from
taxation when held by individuals. We
do not recommend, however, any change
in the method of computing the franchise
! tax upon such trust companies and saw
ings banks as own mortgages subject tc
the recording tax. The privilege OF put
| ting together individual deposits OF in
| vestment in large number Of securities
under State supervision involves valu-
able franchise which should be taxed
| even though the investments made are III
| part in securities which would not be
| taxed to an individual.
| STEAM AND POWER BOATS.
With the exception OF boats owned by
| railroads all steamers are taxed locally by
| the municipality where the owner resides.
| There is no uniform system Of determin-
| ing the value Of such boats, and as a result
companies owning any considerable
amount OF this property change theiI
domicile to such towns as will place a
small valuation on their boats. This can
readily be done by the stockholders vot-
| ing to change the principal place of bust
ness of the corporation from one town to
| another. We would suggest the advisa-
bility of law defining uniform
| method Of computing the value of steam
| boats based on their age and tonnage.
| Many assessors of towns along the coast
assert that the present statute does not
explicitly authorize the taxation of power
| and other pleasure boats owned by non
| residents. There are many of these boats
in Maine at the time OF our assessment
and we recommend a law taxing them
locally where found the first day of April
BANK TAX REFORM NEEDED.
The real estate of national banks, trust
and banking companies is taxed in the
municipality where it is located. Real
estate is assessed direct to the bank, while
the shares, representing ownership in its
capital stock, are taxed at the local rate to
the shareholders, if resident of the State,
in the town where he resides. The shares
of nonresident are taxed in the town
where the bank is located.
The shares in a bank are certainly of the
same value and should at least be uni
formiy valued throughout the State. 1t is
seldom that the assessors of two munich