The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1908-01-23
POINTS 0UT lkl0UlTlES.
Tax Commission Writes HarshIy
About inequalities.

CNBNNh
In the reYort of the Tax Commission
If Ohio Submitted to the Legislature
by GuvcrnCr Harris. this strong con-
demnatOrl language is used In dis
cussine the iniquit.es of the present
AK system:
First-t punishes the honest. The
aXpayer who undertakes to make
full return If 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 he worth less
than par: note with good security
b. way Of mort cage or otherwise, is
worth its face value; while a bond or
a share of stocl. has generally fixed
market price. To list these classes
of property at less than their value
would be as plain a violation OF the
law as not to list them at all, and
vet IL 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
ar 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 he confiscated by the
| public authority. II is well known
that with au average tax rate in most
| Ohio cities of from 8 to per cent,
| the owner II 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-
dtion for the privilege OF such own
ership.
Second-It rewards the dishonest.
| 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.
I 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 II. n "A" owning
farm worth $4,000 borrows $4,000
upon It he is required to pay taxes
I under the present laws OF Ohio on
the full value Of the farm, while "B"
who loans the money pays taxes on
the 81, 900 mortgage. This is not only
double taxation, but 1t imposes the
burden upon one who can lea Il afford
to bear il, 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 II the
mortgage were not subject to taxa
tion. and this despite the fact that
the mortgage is generally concealed
by the mortgagee. A further result
of this taxation of land and mort
| BdHtS Ut TIC iatC 10 a dioSibh-
ination against citizens Of Ohio and
In favor OF citizens of other states. A
resident OF this state who lends
money secured by a mortgage in Ohio
is taxed upon the credit thus created.
whereas a nonresident. such as a for
eiga insurance company, is not taxed
upon any indebtedness to him Sc
cured by a mortgage upon land in this
st"tc
Fourth-It 10 unjust to the owners
of all other property. The escape
from taxation OF fully 80 per cent OF
all intangible property, which is un-
doubtedly going on In Ohio today, in
creases by exactly its share the bur.
den upon the owners Of other PROF
erty and particularly the owners OF
real estate which may be, and gen.
orally is, assessed for taxation below
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 In the gravest com
plant that can be brought agains,
the present system. II the attempt
to tax intangible property by the
same methods as those which apply
to other forms OF property were .
material benefit to the state. which Il
is not. instead Of a material injury
which II is, such benefit could never
compensate for the deplorable infiu
ence upon the moral sense OF com
munities that results from . kuowl
edge that false returns for taxation
are made by citizens generally.