The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1914-10-23
OUR TAX LAWS.

An honest offset is Just law, as
no property should be taxed twice !
have always held that the law, which |
was repealed at our last legislature, |
should have remained in force until
some other provision was made to re-
heye double taxation. l once heard q
member of Congress from Vermont
claim that there was no double taxa
ton in our state If 4 had Il horse
priced at 5000 and kept it, he would
pay taxes on 5000. But if he sold it
to b, taking B : note for $500. each
would pay taxes on 5000, making a
fictitious list of $500 instead of an
actual list on $500 of property. All
fictitious lists rob the poor man and
help the well-to-do accordingly. If our
legislature had abolished all offsets out
side Of the state and allowed each in
dividuHl one or two thousand dollars
offset, they would have retained near
II all honest offsets and eliminated
all dishonest offsets.
am Il firm believer that cheap mon
CIV would stimulate all kinds OF bust
ness. both agricultural and manu.
featuring; also, that there is a lack OF
cooperation between producers and
consumers. money borrowers and mon
cy lenders, rs, for instance, when the
farmers sell potatoes for 81 cents 4
| bushel and the city consumers pay
- cents Il peck, or when the people
Of Vermont get 4 per cent interest on
Iabout @lo0.0o000o and the man who
wants to buy farm or improve the
one he already has, or the laborln9
man who wants to build or buy q
home, has to pay Is per cent interest
and then taxes on his Indebtedness.
| Our laws have made cooperation be
tween borrower and lender impossible.
| All notes bearing a low rate OF inter
est should be exempt from taxation,
SO that the borrower and the lender
could deal directly. if they choose TO
do 50.
/ [ would like to see the state (Which
is the people, use its credit to help de
velop the state. The farming land OF
this state could support several times
i its present population. 1t is an opp0r-
tune time to try to attract filters OF
the soil, a more desirable and perma
nent population than some of the mau
fufurturing industries would attract
; Nearly all European countries have
some kind of farm credit system. Fol
> i20 wears the New Zealand government
has been borrowing money and lend
f. ing it to farmers. 1t has now loaned
/, SOC, 600, 900, taking 90 per cent of tht
value of the farms. This brought the
interest rate from over : per cent doWf
to and 4 ID per cent. New Tea
land is one of the most progressive
countries in the world today. In 1907
a drought in New South Wales causCt
its government to use its securities tt
I loan money to the farmers at t PEI
e cent interest The benefits were st
5 great that the policy was made per
manent. Denmark, with state ait
giving + per cent interest on farm
loans. has enabled a larger percentage
Of her farmers to own their owl
farms than has any other country.
would like to see the state (the PEG
ple) issue bonds bearing , 34 pc
- cent to per cent interest and loan
the money on real estate at 4 per cen
or Il per cent interest. The bushes
could be done on one-fourth of one pc
cent, as that would give 100000 t.
n look after $40, 600, 900 of mortgages
One man, giving all of his time, wit
two or three helpers in each county
giving part of their time, could lool
Y after that amount of business.
Such law would tend, not only t
keep our own boys in Vermont, bu
II also to attract people from all othe
II states Hundreds of thousands of do
II lars, that are now going to help devel
H op other states, would be wanted her
II in Vermont and our rural population
II which has hardly held its own for
II generation, would increase rapidly
II Farms would be divided, new build
II ings bought, old ones improved, up-tC
II date machinery bought and NOR
II intensive agriculture seen Throughout
II the state. These conditions woul
II stimulate all other kinds of business.
II 1t is up to the people to elect me
II free from corporation or personal IL
II terests, to go to Montpelier to enac
II laws, having as their one object, "Th
III greatest good to the greatest nun
II Der.