The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-01-03
THE TAX BILLS

The legislature will re-convene next
Monday night and then will come the
real test as to whether the Senate
and House can get together on tax
reform measure that will meet in
some degree, at least, the demands
of the people of the state. This de-
mand is very real and insistent and
no legislator should make the mis-
take of allowing his own personal the
cries to stand in the way of a COM
promise bill, which is of course the
only bill that can be passed when
there are so many varying opinions.
We do not mean that man should
sacrifice his convictions for the sake
of reaching an agreement, but he
should be willing to approach the
question with an open mind and with
determination to do the fair thing
regardless of whom it may affect He
should forget, for the time being. that
he has any property or personal in
terest, and seek to do justice between
the citizen and the state, between
man and man, between the farmer
and the merchant, the workingman
and the manufacturer the individual
and the bank, and between those who
have little and those who have much.
If he will do this, he will find that
the process of re-adjustment under
any reasonable system will soon work
out without any serious injustice to
any honest man. We have all had to
pay taxes in the past and shall have
to in the future No man can expect
TO escape, or to greatly tighten his
burden. Taxes are one of the penal
ties of civilization, and may not be es-
capped any more than the follies of
fashion or the freaks of the break
fast food promoters.
OF the several bills before the leg.
islature, all have their good features
and strong arguments can be made
against any of them. The same will
be true of any measure that may be
proposed, but this need deter no man
seeking to do his duty. There never
was desirable advance made at any
stage of the history of the world but
was violently opposed by clever argu.
ment.
To consider briefly the several pro
posals under discussion. The fiat rate
bill passed by the House has been
probably the most talked about, and
there is no question that the fiat rate
theory of taxation is growing in IA
vor not only in Vermont but in other
states as well. We know no
serious argument against the fiat rate
: if the proposition were brought for
ward on its own merits.
This House BILL however, seeks to
do more than to establish fat rate
and in so doing does what We consi.
der a rank injustice, through allow
ing one class of men an offset and
practically removing that advantage
from another class. We have no great
love for offsets. They are often used
to defraud and by men who can best
afford to pay taxes, but this fact
should not interfere with the princi.
Piles of abstract justice.
Offsets should be either abolished
altogether or permitted to all alike.
An attempt to get the support of the
farmers by giving them their offset
while refusing to give it to a manu-.
facturer and large employer of labor.
would be not only unjust but short
sighted from a selfish point of view.
Everybody knows that farms in the
vicinity Of Bennington, Rutland, Bar.
re or any other large manufacturing
town are worth double and often four
or five times what they are In Sand
gate, Benson, Chelsea, Dover. or any
1870 NN"H AeA nun a ANtui market.
No other one thing will so add to the
prosperity and real estate values of
a community as to increase its indus
trial activity and so develop an i'm.
proved local market. knitting manu-
featuring enterprise through a tax
system that Furnishes man who Dor.
rows large sums Of money to employ
labor and buy material is a narrow
policy Of grave danger.
II the fat rate bill is to become a
law it should either not touch the OF.
set law or it should do away with Of
sets altogether. Personally we be
lieve that a fat rate bill should apply
to all personal property, whether
tangible or intangible and that the
fst rate should be gradually lowered
until it gets down to Eve mills. This
could be done by making the rate
seven mills this year. six mills next !