Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1914-09-17
injustice OF OUR TAX sYsTEm.
Students Say Amendment to Constitu.
ton Would Improve Matters.
Greensboro News. }

w. n. b.. of Fayetteville contrib.
utes to the Wilmington Star a strons
article on the subject of the t..xatio1
i amendment.
( Inc inquiry and inequality of the ad
tEalorem system, as applied to certain
lcIasses of property, is strikingly shown
IN the case of savings bank deposits.
he says, but there are other classes of
| properly In which heavy burden is
imposed.
In the address of Attorney General
Blckett, in advocacy of the amend
nents, delivered before the meeting of
the North Carolina Press Association
held at Wrightsville Beach in June. he
cites the following cases:
In certain town in this state there
lives a widow. She owns SIC, 900
which she got from the insurance ON
che life of her husband. L lend. that
money out for this widow at the high
est rate allowed by law. The com
blned state, county and town taxes are
SO that, at the end of the year. when I
pay this widow $500 in interest. she at
once turns over $265of it to the GOV
ernment under which she Ives
This the attorney general character
ICES as the essence of tyranny and the
refinement of cruelty And so it is.
agrees this writer; ''but let us see If
we cannot produce an example that
completely overshadoWs the one quot
ed above:
Z Suppose the widow referred to hsd
been resident of Wilmington and In
stead of the insurance money, she had
inherited from her husband savings
hank books, showing net deposits OF
$4,000 The interest on this sum, al
4 per cent, would, Of courses be s$4O0S
but the state, county ana city taxes
u Wilmington aggregate 1910 on her
0ODOO worth of property. So, the
widow would have received see 90 aa
her gross income and Of this the tax
gathered would have taken grace
leaving her the munifcent su1n OF
5000 as the net income from an iE-
Festment pf SIC, ,OO0. 900. 'Rennenaeat
at erueltR is surely too mild term
t0 apply Ia this case. LegaIi5ed fop-
hety would be more, appreprit = ~ !.
e 10 pointed out that there are 4SE
state banks, private bank and trust
eotppa naes IN North q ctsl ill nj fllere,s
ere u National sof
1zekfl1i e10t leEfE III -;
60z h6nks mere are hans
sands of dolIars belOn iIt to- 81 slsTsg.
and orphans. Must these uMGoKt KtulfeAa
be taxed rs per cent OF their fars Il1re@
to support q government throuxr an
antiQuated and iniQuitoRs laws.
What Is imperatiyely needed B IN
amendment to the constitution Ilae
would permit the legislature to segre-
gate certain classes Of property and
impose on them tax based ON justice
and common sense. And this ia being
done by many states that have Ne
come dfsgusted with the antediEHvfan
legislation.
previous to last January" writes
tfW. III. B." "tI1e tax on bank deposits
In Virginia was $1.75 on the $4,000
but in that month bill was. passed
making fat rate of 20 cents on the
hundred dollars for state purposes and
prohibiting the levying of any tax at
all on such deposits by cities, counties
or towns. And to show that this law
was popular and meritorious, it passed
the senate by more than three
fourths majority with the tax rate fx-
ed at 10 cents on the $100. 90. In the
house the rate was increased to 20
cents and passed that body, as an
emergency measure, by more three
fourth majority It went back to the
senate as amended and passed that
body unanimously. This law having
been in force only seven mouths. e IS
too early to form an estimate Of IT'S
effect as a revenue producer; but IT
will doubtless yield a largely increas-
ed revenue, as has been the case IN
other states that have adopted s1mnae
legislation" To prove this conteAeRon-
the following official statement flom
Baltimore is presented:
'sPrior to 1897, Intangible property
in Maryland, was taxed under q uRI-
form ad valorem law. The rate. HH-
der this rule, in the city of Baltfn1oEe.
was 50 on the 800 worth of property
Under this rule there was listed for
taxation six million of Intangible se-
curities. This rule was changed, and
a fat rate of 80 cents on the $10e was
imposed on property of this class, and
the next year the amount listed Glrasy-
edsfrom six million dollars to. 50 IEzsE-
lion. Since then it has steadily czTTzsI-
ed, until now, in the city OF BaItfmuTc
alone, there is listed four hundred aZ;d
fifty million dollars Of intangible Sc
curities. Under uniform rule, WITH
tax of So, the public got reyrTa"
of $4,000 per year; under the class
flied rule with tax of 80 cents. ftte
public receives a revenue Of aySsr
$450,O00 per year"
What is known as Intangible pT0p
erty consists of property that ca-1HGrs
be touched or seen except by the ON
ers and embraces bank deposits, see1l.
rites of various kinds, bonds, etc. 8 "A
it is this c1asseof property that w 7s1s
he listed so long as a condscatoZ ta.s
is imposed, says the writer.
Many states, he points out, hare n
ready taken the step now proposed for
North Carolina; among them, Virginia
Oklahoma, Tennessee, Minnesota
zcna. Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Desa
ke4n-414,,,nS1s S--v,s r orn4 FoUozl e<