St. Tammany farmer., 1908-05-23

is in the state property to the assessed valuation
of $1.25000000O To raise $2,500,000 year, $685.,
100000 in ten years, would require two mill up
this property; two-mill tax applied to all the
property of the state of Illinois the present assessed
valuation land not taking into account the possible in
crease in value thereof would produce the
quired
The records show that the taxing value of an
average 100 the corn belt of Illinois is
little less than $4,000 the actual value being approx
mately $4,000. tWo-mi state tax on this farm as
sessed the value of $4,000 would be exactly Sd
year and no more, and in ten years the state tax
would be $0 which would be the farms proportion of
the S25, 900 total Where this would paw $40
single corporation in the city of Chicago would
have to pay $4,000, another $4,000, and the rail-
ways of the state two millions of dollars Thus we
by state levy Of two mills for ten years. one.half
of the $50000000 is provided for The other must
be raised by local taxation by a bond ISSUE
Let us assume that the township in which the farm
in question is located votes bonds the full constit
uonal limit that is into debt just as far as il
go and pays the highest interest that the law per
mits it to pay. The limit of the bond issue is five per
cent of the assessed valuation, amount of bonds
resting the farm would per cent of 40 O0o
or exactly $780, payable onetenh each year. with in.
terest at five per cent The total interest on this bond
ISSUE far this farm is concerned for the ten
years would be $3.50.
Thus, if we add the bonds. ........,. 800. 90
Interest bonds. Observation-Disclosures. 275O
anu Ine sta1e TAX OF. oL.'...''''.......... 40.00
We have a total tax on the farm of s167. 90
levied and collected upon this farm for both state aid
and to pay off the road bonds interest This amount
is about 101a cents per per year and the total
charge against the farm for the whole ten years oud
be s1.05 per This amount of money paid by the
farm under the state aid plan would enable the state
to expend S500e0000 upon its highways and the ex-
penditure of that would add to the value of farm
property at least five and probably times as much
the respective farms would taxed in order to nav
the bill.
In Illinois less than onethird of the property Of
the state is represented by farms Under the present
plan twothrds of the property Of the state escapes
taxation for road purposes. The state aid plan is
equitable successful and has proven popular in every
state where has been tried the farmers who first
oppose it it's strongest advocates can be
found upon the firing line every year asking for in
creased appropriations to build the roads.
The residents of the towns and cities must i've
upon the farm products the roads used for de-
lfVering the and their necessities such that
the delivery of these products should be regularly and
promptly made-and good roads are necessary to ac
compIish thist only fair that the residents OF
The towns and cities should contribute to building the
7oads, and they in fact seldom object to doing So
The above example of the Illinois farm and how II
would be affected by taxation under state aid would
apply generally to state in the Mississippi valley
In the poorer parts of the country where the land s
less fertile, the state tax would be correspondtngly
less fact in the southern part of Illinois the tax On
in many would not exceed dollar to dollar ana
half So the burden is measured by the ability of ha
people to pay it Copyright 1908 A. Pattessoal