The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-08-04
DOUBLE TAX COMMISSION
Continuation Of Report Submitted to
Gov. Proctor.

Following is continuation OF the
report Of the commission on double
taxation:
In one town a wealthy corporation
having more than 100000 in real es-
tate and personal property filed no
Inventory; the only inventory" ca
on file consists of a letter written by
the stenographer of the president in
the corporation saying in substance:
The president is not at home but
have received a letter from him in
which he says he thinks our list
ought to be about hte same as last
.year-$600 That letter is on file as
AN Inventory" in the town clerks
office The town is poor with high
rate Of taxation and by this transac-
ton has lost from its list more than
$l00,0 900.
One evil known to exist Is that Just
before the first of April personal pro
perry is purchased without the state,
mot to be shipped into the state or
paid for until after the first of April,
so that the purchaser can Offset the
debt so contracted against his per.
lsonal property in the state, which
without that debt would be taxed
here To ascertain the extent of this
levil We caused the following question
ito be inserted in the 1907 Inventories
What amount of such Offset is for
personal property purchased by you
but not in this state on the first day
of April, 1902"
This question was not answered
very fully, but We caused our agents
Ito investigate as to how many debts
declared in offset were said to be due
TO creditors outside the state. and we
found that about onethird of all the
Offsets allowed against personal pro
Iperty was for debts owing without
the state, and although the list was
far from complete the amount so re.
ported was twelve million dollars in
round numbers.
| We find 1t Is the custom with MANY
merchants, in the month of March
to purchase merchandise on credit in
New York. Boston, and other whole
sale centers, ordering it not to be
shipped until after the first day oi
April, and then offset the debt so con
/ tracted against their stock in trade oi
Iother personal property One such
case will suffice to indicate to what
extent some men will go to avoid their
| honest share Of the burden Of taxation
A merchant, as shown by his inVen.
/ tory, had stock of merchandise an
praised at $4,000; he also had bank
stock to the value of $4,000. lie
swore in his inventory that he was
owing for merchandise then outside
the state over $4,000 and so his stock
In trade, $4,000, and his bank stock
$4,000, were wiped out of his grand
list and he escaped paying taxes on
any personal property.
Many inventories neither signed nor
sworn TO were accepted where the off
Isets claimed more than equalled the
personal property of the taxpayer.
In no country III the state does the
amomt of taxable property returned
by the town clerks to the secretary OF
state correspond with the amount oi
taxable property as shown by the i'm
ventories.
The foregoing instances are only q
few of the many that have been found
by us, all OF which tend strongly tC
show that the administrative provis
ions of our present tax law are large
ly ignored and evaded by both the
listers and the taxpayers.
Experience Of other States.
The resolution creating this com
mission authorized II to make investi
cation into the practical working OF
the laws of this and other states and
countries, relating to the subject OF
taxation We have spent consider
able time in the examination of The
laws of other states, as well MS the
several reports of commission created
elsewhere to investigate this subject
From these reports II appears that in
most states the same evils relating tc
the appraisal and assessment of prop
erty that We have found in Vermont
exist
! MINNESOTA. A commission ap