The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1914-10-10
The Tax law

One of the live issues in this state
is the present tax law. Several
towns have considered it in naming
their candidates for the legislature,
pledging them to secure changes that
will remove the laws Objectionable
features. These, as they have been
developed in operation, are the al
most complete failure of the laws
exemption feature as it relates to
debtors, the inequality of it when it
does operate and the burden thrown
upon many worthy persons by the re-
moval of tho offset privilege.
The law, when enacted two years
ago represented a rather clumsy
compromise. The "fiatrates" had as
n pat of their program the abolition
Of offsets. The plan of Governor
Fletcher contemplated simply the eX-
emption of five per cent loans. AZ
ter a long struggle, floor motion
was made combining the two fea-
lures and it commanded votes
enough to carry. 1t did not represent
either plan alone and neither side in
the famous contention has been anx-
ious to claim its parentage. How
eve, every body wished the law well
and hoped that il would mean inn
provement and perhaps point the
way to permanent advancement
The first black eye came with the
ruling by the encouragement that
limited the exemption privilege to
actual loans Of actual money on
actual real estate. This may have
been warranted from technical
standpoint but it was not in sym
rathy with the purposes of the act
and tended greatly to defeat them.
The idea OF the law, SO far as it re-
vealcd one, was to compensate the
debtor for the removal of his offset
privilege by giving him chance to
borrow MONEY at five per cent. With
the strict construction given the act
practically no compensation has
come. Sircumscribcd as it is, the
effect has been not to encourage
many five per cent loans, and these
when made have resulted in losses
in grand list to the advantage OF
those well able to be taxed The
visible effects are that the debtors
pay more taxes and the men with
money to lend get five per cent net
and are relieved of all taxes, which
is better than they did before. In
word. to those who had was given
and from those who had not was
taken away even what they had
No such tax system as this can
long endure. II is too unfair, too OPP
pressive. Instead of bringing inn
proyement the present law has
brought greater distress TO those
who need consideration. 1t matters
not that town and state grand lists
aggregate more. and even il this
brought lowered tax rate( which
it doesn'D the offence would be no
less. for the increase means that
men and firms are being taxed not
on what they actually have CT cwn.
but on all that is in their possession
whether &. 70 rad Cor G.. not.
In effect the law OF 1912 repealed
the privilege OF offset for de5la CIV
ing and Brought TO the debtor moth
ing to compensate him for the loss.
The theory itself may be faulty but
as applied it has brought distress in
stead of relief to those for whose
benefit it was supposed to be con
ceived. \ return TO the old law, Il
nothing better can be devised, would
be an improvement. though it ousrt
to be possible TO frame tax law
that will insure greater equality 70
all and better lot for him Who Der.
rows.-Randolph Herald and News.