News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1914-10-21
THE TAX QUESTION
Morrisville Man Gives Views On Important
State Question.

State Question.
An honest offset is just law, as no
property should be taxed twice. have
always held that the law, which was re-
pealed at our last Legislature, should
have remained in force until some other
provision was made to relieve double
taxation. | once heard a member of Con-
gress from Vermont claim that there was
no double taxation in our State. If A
had horse priced at 5000 and kept it,
he would pay taxes on 5000. If he sold
it to b, taking BIS note for 5000, each
would pay taxes on 5000, making fic-
titious Est, or $500 instead of an actual
list on 5000 of property. All fictitious
| lists rob The poor man and help the we'll
to-do accordingly. If our Legislature
had abolist ed all offsets outside OF the
State and allowed each individual one or
| two thousand dollars offset, they would
have retained nearly all honest offsets
and eliminated nearly all dishonest Off
| sets.
| am firm believer that cheap money
would stimulate all kinds of business,
both agricultural and manufacturing;
also, that there is lack of co operation
ey borrowers and money lenders, as, for
instance, when the farmers sell pOtatOrS
30 cents a bushel and the city consumers
pay 35 cents a peck, or when the poo
pie of Vermont get per cent interest on
about $4,000 600 and the man who
wants to buy farm or improve the one
he already has, or the laboring man who
wants to buy or build home, has to pay
per cent interest and then taxes on his
Indebtedness. Our laws have made CO.
operation between borrower and lender
Impossible. All notes Fearing a low rate
of interest should be exempt from taxa
ton, so that the borrower and the lend
er could deal directly, if they choose to
do so. sine
would like to see the State (which is
the people, use its credit to help develop
the State. The farming land of this
State could support several times its
present population. 1t is an Opportune
time to try TO attract tilers of the soil,
much more desirable and permanent
population than some of the manufactur-
ing industries would attract. Nearly all
European countries have some kind of
farm credit system. For twenty years
the New Zealand government has been
borrowing money and lending it to farm
ers. 1t now has loaned 500, 100000, tax
ing 60 per cent of the value of the farm
This brought the interest rate from over
per cent down to 4 and IL per cent.
New Zealand is one of the most progre'
sve countries in the world to-day. l.
1902 a drouth in New South Wales caused
its government to use it's securities to
loan money to the farmers at per cent
interest. The benefits were so great that
the policy was made permanent Den
,tl totn ~ iri A Nnr, on,
interest on farm loans, has enabled a
larger percentage of her farmers to own
their own farms than in any other cour-
try.
| would like to see the State (the peo-
ple) issue bonds bearing 3-4 to per
cent and loan the money on real estate
at or IA per cent interest. The bust.
ness could be done on one-fourTh IF
one per cent, as that would give 100000
to look after $20,000,000 OF mortgages.
One man. giving all his time, with two or
three helpers in each county, giving part
of their time, could look after that
amount of business.
Such law would tend, not only to
keep our boys in Vermont, but also to
attract people from all other STATES. |
Hundreds of thousands of dollars that
are now going 10 help develop other |
states, WouIu Uo WdHteu mere III VET
mont, and our rural population, which |
has hardly held its own for generation, |
would increase rapidly. Farms would |
be divided, new buildings built, old ones |
improved, up-to-date machinery baught,
and Uore intensive agriculture seen |
throughout the State. These conditions
would stimulate all other lines of bust
ness.
1t is up to the people to elect men,
free from corporation or personal inter-
ests, to go to Montpelier, to enact laws,
having as their one object, The great
est good to the greatest number"
Z. F. SMITH.
MorrisVilla VT.