The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-02-22
Taxes and Their Cause.

Some weeks ago The Reporter
gave the advice to pay your taxes
without kicking. When ] went to
pay mine I didn't kick, but I've been
thinking pretty hard ever since. An
increase from $11S.0O in 1911 to
$1,000 in 1912, in fact a raise of
40 per cent, on the same amount OF
personal property and real estate;
then I began to wonder what 1t
would be next year with money and
credits on fiat rate of five mills or
II, " of I per cent, reduction of 100
per cent Then the burden will sure
be on real estate and unjustly too.
We will take Decatur township,
district No. 4, for an illustration.
The average price of land per acre
is $SO.00, making 100 acres worth
100000. The average assessed
value is $4,000 per acre, or 81 10000
taxable value. The number of mills
levee. is AZ or Al per cent, making
$500 taxes.
The average rent is $4,000. De-
duct the taxes, and $4,000 for up
keep and insurance, would leave a
net profit of $325.00 on an invest
ment of $12,S00.00.
Now, then, we will see what $12,-
10000 in money will earn, and judge
whether the real estate has been as
sessed too low. $12,O00.00 in cred
its would pay a tax of $4,000,
and at per cent would earn
$7GS.0O Deducting the taxes, it
: would leave profit Of $G1S.00. SO
you can see with all the cry, the
credits have been unjustly taxed,
that $12,S00.O0 in money will earn
$4,000 more than the same amount
invested in real estate
| For another illustrations: man
had S6,4OO.O0. 1t would earn him
at 6 per cent 1884 90 He would
decide to buy 100 acres of land at
, $4,000 per acre. He would be in
debt $6,400.00. Now he is paying
! $3S4.0O interest, $500 taxes and
/ $4,000 for up-keep. This makes
his annual outlay $4,000 or $4,000
more than he could rent his land for,
and he donates the use of his origi-
nal capital of $4,000. So you can
easily see if there is anything in
farming, it is the labor you and your
family put in it. That means get up
at 4 O'Clock a. m. and keep at it till
o'clock p. m, with the mercury
, 100 degrees above or 80 degrees be-
low. We have had both this last
year.
| Then you hear the cry from every
city back to the land' l have
spent my entire life of AZ years on
the farm here in Decatur county,
and in my opinion there never was
time when the farmer was taxed
to the limit as he is today. Not only
on his holdings but on everything
he uses, everything he wears and
eats, every piece Of farm machinery,
no matter which way he turns he can
plainly spell the word tax under the
disguise of the word tariff But it is
tax just as direct as the one you
kick about paying into the county
treasury.
The farmer of today cant stop. If
he even stumbles he is buried under
an avalanche Of taxes. With the in
crease this year, sure increase next
year, we can well stop and ask who
is responsible? There is but one
answer, the Republican party They
have had control of every office, state
and national Let us see what they
have done in this state the last few
years to take care of their ever grow
ing family of office seekers. They
have created new state institutions
with a small army Of salaried attend
ants; have created a great number
OF state inspectors, at good liberal
salary, to inspect everything we use,
while it is a fact that we are paying
higher prices and getting a poorer
grade than we did before we ever
heard of an Inspector; have raised
the salaries of all the state officials,
and the men who asked you to send
them to the last legislature at a fixed
salary didn't do thing but double
their salary, passed a bill making
you pay high school tuition which
will amount to one mill, one mill
road drag, made you pay your road
tax in money instead of giving you a
chance to work it out, made quite
number of high appropriations for
state institutions, including $4,000
for the state fair. Here is one place
where every farmer can see there is
getting to be more of graft each |
year. The state has probably spent !
a million dollars the last few years
on these grounds, and yet the farmer i
who takes in the fair has to part !
with fifty cents every time he turns
around. The money that we have
spent there to use one week out of
the year, if properly used would have
built 10000 miles of good roads !
which the people could have free
access over 365 days out of the year.
Then to pay the bills of the last
legislature which were unusually ex-
travagant, the state executive council
had to increase the value of our real
estate II per cent.
l would not be surprised for the
next legislature to establish home
for superannuated officials with a lib
eral pension.
1t will pay well to find where
your candidate for the legislature
stands on the tax question The only
remedy is through the ballot.