The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1913-08-22
ROAD TAX
OBJECT OF
DISCUSSION
TIMES BUREAU.
AT STATE CAPITAL.

Indianapolis. Ind. Aug. 22. - The
state accounting department has made
II plain in a letter to David S. Rooms,
township trustee at Cowan. that $40
Is the maximum amount of road tax
that taxpayer may work out in any
township. under the new law. The let
ter reads as follows:
No taxpayer may. under the exist
ing law, work out more than sac OF
road taxes in the township. The law
does not apply to districts. but to the
townships as a whole. and $40 is the
limit that county treasurers may give
any taxpayer credit for on such ac-
count"
Under the old road tax law. which
was repealed by the new law of 1918,
any taxpayer could work out all OF
his road taxes instead of paying 1t in
cash. This system produced a huge
system of graft, because many OF the
larg taxpayers, such railroads and
other big corporations, farmed out
their road tax under contract to road
contractors who did the work for
them. 1t was charged for years that
under this system the townships did
not receive the amount of work on
their roads that they were emf tiled to,
but that in many instances the work
actually done did not amount to more
than go per cent of the amount of the
road taxes. This gave rise to q wide
spread demand for a change in the
system of collecting road taxes, and
the legislature of 1918 enacted a law
which provides that road taxes up to
the amount of $40 may be worked out
in any township by a taxpayer. All
road taxes above $40 must, therefore.
be paid in cash TO the county trea-
eurer.
Some persons have had the idea that
the new law means that a taxpayer
may work out $40 worth of road tax
in each road district of the township.
but the state accounting department
says this is not the correct interpre
tation OF the law. The part of the new
statute which relates to this subject
reads follows. being the first part
OF section Is, of house bill sos. pub
lished on page ST. of the acts of 1913:
THE township advisory board. on
an estimate made by the township
trustee, shall levy annually on or be-
fore the first Tuesday in June a road
tax Of not more than thirty cents on
eac hone hundred dollars, to be levied
according to the amount of real and
personal property owned In such
township, outside of the corporate
cities and towns subject to taxation
for road purposes, to be collected as
other taxes are collected, except that
all road taxes are to be collected with
the first yearly installment of taxes;
provided, that any person owing taxes
so assessed shall be permitted to work
out the same up to the amount of $40
twenty dollars as nearly as practicable
in the road district in which such real
estate lies, and on taxes assessed on
personal property. the person owning
the same shall be permitted to work
out the anne up to the amount of $50
in the district where the owner re-
sides. Said tax to be worked out at
the rate Of $3.50 per day for each
man"
The state accounting department is
of the opinion that the law is suffi-
ciently plain to inform any one of its
meaning.
Another point in regard to the care
of highways was the subject of a let
ter which the department wrote to w.
r. Smith. township trustee at Pitts
burg, Ind. The letter says:
Township trustees have duty to
perform with respect to roads that are
under the supervision of the board of
county commissioners acting a
board of turnpike directors. The cut
ting of weeds along such roads is a
matter for the attention of the super
intendent assigned thereto"
A letter of interest to city attorneys
all over he state has been written by
the department to ]. H. Fetterhoff, city
attorney of whiting. The letter says
I'm reply to your recent letter re-
lating to fees of city attorneys in
prosecutions of violators of city ordi-
nances. beg to say that Sept
IL 1912. in reply to an inquiry from
II. ]. Curtis, city attorney of Gary. at
tention was called to the acts of 1905
page 312), wherein 1t is specified OF
strongly to be inferred. that except in
cities Of the first class. such fees may
be retained by the city attorney. This
department has had no occasion to
change the conclusion reached at tina,
time"
Way of Woman.
No woman Caraa tn fare ofnox.