The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-12-06
OPEN LETTER TO THE BURLING
TON FREE PRESS.

In recent editorial you endorsed tn
Rabbit bill exempting loans secured oil
real estate in Vermont. We regret thi
in view of the large circulation your pa
per has. We had hoped that the weigh
of your influence would have beer
thrown on the side of fairness anC
equality in taxation. We do not ques
tion the honesty of your motives oil
belief. Your argument is founded al
most exclusively on the law of New
Hampshire, which has had but one years
experience. This exempts loans on real
estate where the interest does not ex-
coed certain per cent, replica of the
| Babbitt bill.
You quote the tax commissioner of
New Hampshire and he himself admits
that exempting loans on real estate is
not sufficient, that the exemption should
be extended to all credits, and you seem
to endorse his view. What would be
the result in Vermont if we should ex-
empt all credits and make the law APP
ply to banks so that their invested funds
or credits would not be used to meas
ure the amount of their tax? The
banks now. pay over 100000 to the
state treasury. Could we afford to lose
result of adopting your theory.
You say the New Hampshire law has
not injured the banks. Nobody, not
even the banks, has claimed that the
Babbitt bill would injure them. We do
not see how any one could claim that
exempting them would hurt them. But
their exemption means additional bur-
dens to other taxpayers to supply the
100000. We should have to impose
direct tax of 24c on the grand list
of 5000, 405. On what class of prop
erty would this additional burden fall
Taking 1910 for basis and deducting
the $33, 734,945 of deductions from the
personal property of S45,l06,0S2 we
would have Sl2,372,037. There is large
amount of credits in this last sum that
would be exempt if we should exempt
all credits. We have not the precise
amount of the intangibles that 90 into
our personal property appraisal, but we
think it is fair to say that there are
five millions of taxed intangibles that
now yield revenue to the local treas
uries. This would leave a balance of
only $7,372037 of personal property to
be taxed. In other words, the burden |
Of making up the loss to our state and |
town treasures would fall almost ex-
on real estate. Tell me, then, |
where the exemption benefits the |
real estate borrowers If he is a bor- |
rover on real estate at the rate of five
per cent. instead of six per cent, he will |
save ten dollars on every thousand dol
lars on his loan, but his real estate will |
be taxed more to make up for the ex-
emption. He will save ten dollars in
but will pay back consid-
cradle portion of it by way of increased |
taxes on his land. We do not think |
the saving of interest is of so much
Importance to him as an opportunity to
borrow on the security he can give. His
to borrow would be little,
I any, improved by the exemption. Aft
n paying his taxes he would save only
| fraction of a cent at the most.
The exemption proposition is, there
ore, a delusion. IL would be benefit
% no one except the lender. He has
'een our special ward in the past, and
We are to give him still further fayors
~ this legerdemain process. We pro-
ess to benefit the borrower, but the
rick is turned against him every time.
1t is curious to see New Hampshire
avn ohc tAptlithSt
f mortgages held up as an example
o follow. Why not follow the example
{ states who have had experience with
he fiat rate, like Pennsylvania and
iaryland, for thirty and sixteen years
Why not follow Maryland
hose principal city of Baltimore is
aising on intangibles taxed at the low
ate of three mills $4,000 annually,
5 against $4,000 when the tax was
bout fifteen millss Was it not a pretty
pod showing for a fiat rate law when
ur tax commission in 1905 fonud that
he single city of Baltimore with about
10000 people had nearly 100000
ore taxed intangibles in the list than
lie Empire state of Ohio with over
100000 peoplei
You quote from the tax commission
of New Hampshire. Why not quote
ON the auditor generals report of
in which he saws: NOsIr
stem Of taxation 1.-THE fat rate) works
ell in the production Of revenue. Many
quiries have been received from stats
over the United States as 20 our
ethod of taxation. The revenues of
e state appear ample for its present
eds and the outlook is most favor
lie. deem IL hardly necessary 20
ggest anything new in the way of
yislatiOn intended to produce reve-
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