Putnam patriot. [volume] (Putnam, Conn.) 1872-1962, 1915-04-23
new TAX BILL
is REPORTED
Committee LaysIt Before Legis-
Iature; Contains New Features
INSURANCE RATE INCREASED
Water, Gas, Electric and Power Com
panies Taxes ~ Per Cent. of Gross
Receipts; Manufacturers Pay so
Cents on Each 500 Excess.

Especial Hartford Correspondence
Hartford.-The new tax bill was re-
ported unanimously by the finance
committee OF the Legislature. Ii is Elk.
peeted to appear in print in the files
soon.
In brief the bill proposed to tax
steam and electric railroads 81 per
cent of the gross receipts. This
gross is to be ascertained by taking
the ratio of the mileage in Connecti-
cut to the total mile and calling the
Connecticut gross the same proper
ton of the total earnings For street
railroads the taxrate is Az per cent
Taxes paid locally on real estate are
to be deducted in both cases.
Water, gas, electric and power COM
panies are to be taxed Il per cent. of
their gross receipts, and all of their Sc
eurities are exempt from taxation in
their holders hands.
Stock insurance companies do not
get hit as hard as was threatened
| at first when the talk was of a tax
on total assets. but by this law they
are taxed for the state one half of one
| per ment. in addition to the one per
cent. now collected from them by the
state and distributed among the
towns where the stockholders have
their legal residence. 1t amounts in
effect to adding so per cent. TO the
insurance taxes. No such extra tax
is levied on banks and trust com
| panies, which are also "moneyed" cor.
porations, because the national banks
| could not be reached: and taxing state
Institutions and not taxing the others
would be a discrimination against our
own corporations.
/ The corporate excess tax, however.
! is the storm center of the new scheme,
for there are a hundred manufactures
where there is one insurance com
pany. This new tax provides that the
concerns to which it applies, and these
are practically manufacturing corpor-
atoms, shall pay an annual tax of 80
cents on each hundred dollars of their
excess value" This excess is to be
sscertained by taking the market val
ne of shares and bonds and debentures
Of such a corporation and then de-
! Quoting from their sum the amount of
the assessment value of its real and
personal tangible property and also
such non-taxable securities as it may
hold. This excess of the value of
shares and obligations over the taxed
property is to be taxed at a 3-mills
rate.
| Many objections have been raised
against this plan. These range all
! the way from declaring that II will de-
velop an inquisition and yield prac
| tieally nothing to declaring that 1t will
yield more than is wanted. The fact
is that for Connecticut it is altogether
an experiment Nobody knows what
! it will bring in. Those who have
pushed il through are strongly of the
opinion that it will gain friends on ae
auaintance. Such corporations as
have been listing for taxation the
debts due to them, and this is re
CURED by the existing law, have had
| to pay the local tax, which in this city
exceeds 2 per cent. Under the law
proposed these intangibles would be
exempt and all paid on them would
count on the other side of the ledger
There are many guesses as to what
| the measure will yield, il it becomes
| a law Those who have been studying
the subject are of the opinion that the
tax on steam and electric railroads
and street railroad lines will bring in
about s450.O0O. 1t is an interesting
] fact tina the tax payments by the
| trolleys are likely to be reduced. The
gig and watery Connecticut Railway
& Lighting stock is now guaranteed
| its dividends and. therefore, 1t pays
taxes on its market value, which Is
| considerably above what it's gross re-
ceipts would call for. Another esti
mate is that the electric gas and pow
er companies will pay in about $780,
600. The tax from stock insurance
ompanies it put at about 100000
1t is all guess-work, even with those
who have studied most closely what
the corporate excess tax will produce
The assumption is that it will be
around $500 900 and perhaps more. II
is contended that some concerns viii
pay less tax under it than before. All
that is to be ascertained by it's work
ing. if it is law.
These estimates would make a total
yield of about 81 100000.
The appropriation bill provides for
expenditures by the state Of s1S.051.
901 The actual running expenses of
the state have been but slightly pared
but provision has been made for no
large Improvements or new work.