Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1910-04-01
TAXATION PROBLEMS
a0otty Points Discussed byWind,
ham County Listers
sisIs for Appraisal Of Bank Stock Deoid.
90 Upon-state Tax Commissioner
Cushman Gave Helpful Talk

cd Upon-state Tax Commissioner
Cushman Gave Helpful Talk
one of the most instructive meetings
..I iu Brattleboro in recent years took
u..,c Tuesday in Festival hall when the
STEERS Of the various towns in Windham
..luty gathered for an informal discussion
t the situation in the county with re-
-...t to the listing of property for taxa
.nn state Tax Commissioner ]. T..
"u-hman Of Burlington added much to
t.o interest of the gathering by his
presence and his able discussion of knottv
isuhlems. Col. Kittredge Haskins, the
new member of the Brattleboro board of
listers. also proved decided addition to
.Hc meeting by his leadership and advice
.a the legal aspects of points which came
Gp i'm the discussion. Altogether it was
.u exceedingly profitable meeting, and the
listers went to their homes filled with
enthusiasm and ambition to make the
coming quadrennial appraisal the most
Just and complete ever made.
The meeting was called to order by Col
Uaskins at 10 o'clock in the morning, and
Sac was the unanimous choice of the as
spmbled listers for chairman. H. B.
Chamberlain of Brattleboro was elected
secretary The roll was called and these
listers from the towns in the county re-
-vonded Athens-H j. Hastings, George
A. J. Currier II. b. Chamberlain, j. L.
Barney, Kittredge Haskins. Q. f. Benson;
Hrookline-A. O. Wellman, Oscar Law
renee. L. w. Bush Dover-L. c. Hol-
land w. e. Snow Dummerston-W. j.
Hay. 5. S. Washer; Grafton-N. r. Davis,
b. B Wilbur F. r. Tanner; Halifax-N
b. Thurber; Jamaica-A. w. Kidder, r.
d. Wheeler n. F. Pierce; Marlboro-A
b. Stratton; Newfane-H. +. Sparks, a.
J.. Lockwood, II. L. Johnson Putney-
r. =. Hannum, ]. r. Miller, w. f. Pierce;
Eockingham-O. NJ. George, P. L. O'Brien.
J. b. Minard, A. l. Bolles, j. L. Byrne
Townshend-H c. Stratton, E. B.
Batchelder, p H. Rutter; Vernon-A. A.
Streeter NJ j. Stoddard, A. Martindale !;
Wardsboro ]. A. Perry; Westminster
Thomas Ashwell, c. S. Miller, j. B. Morse
Wilmington j. j. Howe. Windham,
Stratton, Somerset and Londonderry were
not represented
The greater part of the morning session
WAS taken up with statement by Mr.
Cushman of the conditions in the state.
He endeavored to impress the listers with
the responsibility which rested upon them
in common with the other listers in the
state. He stated that in 1908 the taxable
property in the state amounted to about
5000 100000 with about $33, 900, 900 of on
sets, In Windham county there was
about Sl2500,000 of taxable real estate,
about 100000 of personal property and
about SSOO0,0OO of offsets. Roughly
speaking the men present We're to list
about $20,000000 of property this spring.
Mr.. Cushman spent considerable time in
explaining what valid legal inventory
should be. He called attention to the
listers oath, that they would appraise
all property, set all down in the grand
list and faithfully perform every duty
under the laws of the state. He said
that he was taking steps toward having
printed a decent copy of the taxation
laws which would be distributed to every
lister in the state.
Another point on which Mr.. Cush-
man dwelt at length was the administra-
ton of the oath to taxpayers. He said
that unless the oath was administered in
accordance with the law the list was not
valid and the taxpayer could not be
held for perjury on account of any dis
crepancies in II even though he had
signed 1t. The oath should be admins
tered exactly in the form prescribed by
the statutes and it should be given with
the same dignity that 1t is given in
court. No. one ever heard even a country
justice administer an oath unless the
man stood up and raised his right hand
A lister is subject to a fine of 5000 for
accepting an inventory without the oath
in due form. This might seem like nom
sense for a man who paid only a poll
tax, but it was the law and ii could
not be changed before the converting OF
the next Legislature. Mr. Cushman
suggested that the statute be changed
20 provide for simpler form Of an
affidavit furthermore, a listers duty
does not end with simply taking a mans
statement. II he has reason to believe
that ii is not correct he is bound &c
investigate. In short, he must use a
little ordinary common sense about ac-
ccptng lists. A few unscheduled ques-
lions often will change the appearance
Of an inventory greatly.
In the afternoon session the chairman
appointed Mr. Batchelder and Mr.
Chamberlain a committe to present re-
solutions in regard to listing bank stock
reid by Windham county taxpayers
They reported resolution to list the
stock Of the Peoples national bank OF
Brattleboro at S175 a share, par value
Of shares being 500, the Vermont ma
iional bank of BrattlebOro at 1925, pal
value being $50, the Brattleboro Trust
company at $50, par value being 500
the Bellows Falls trust company at $50
par value being 800 of which $50 has
been paid in, and the Bellows Falls ma
tional bank at 500, par value being
$50 After a little discussion it was de-
Cided to reduce the Bellows Falls ma
rional bank stock to $75. \ number o.
the listers thought that the Vermont
national bank stock should be listed a
"a much higher figure, but o. F. Benson
said that 1925 was a fair appraisal Al
arrangement was made by which the
value set by the listers in other coun
ties on bank stock in their counties
VIII be available.
Mr.. Cushman gave the listers somt
topics for discussion by presenting q
s.ncdule showing the average apprai
sal per acre on land in the various towns
as compared with their tax rates. HI
d'l not make this comparison for th'
Inc purpose of equalizing the rates, bu
simply as a basis for comparison b!
owns in the same situation. Bratue
npro and Rockingham were left out o
t.e schedule as the villages in eacl
make the comparison Of little value
lu the case of Brattleboro it was foun'
by Mr.. Cushman that the acreage o
real estate had not been filled in eitne
of the last two appraisals, although
tie form called for it. The schedule wa
as follows:
Town Appraisal
per acre. Tax rate
SJratton, S5.42 $40
Marlboro, 5.94 10
Dover, els II
Halifax, 6.S6 20
BrOokline, 6.75 IL
somerset 6.99 IL