The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-07-30
TAXES ARE NOW AS
 CERTAIN AS DEATH
Laws Effective August 1 Make Tax Dodging Difficult
 z New Tax Laws

A@favorite maxim Nothing is sure 1 but death and taxes will truthfu11y naterialize 1n9operation as well as in EtheerY in Connecticut beginning with August l..
 . Chapter -293ssofs the Public Acts of 191 B. ina effect August i, provides that any person havings5in his possession taxable bonds, notes, moneys on de- posits in banks in excess of $1OO in ether than savings banks, and who has not paid a. tax in it for the past five years may list it with the state treasurer on or before September g., and pay a tax of mills per annum thereon. Tn the settlement of es- tates+ of persons deceased or after August Il, the act provides that the administrator or executor of the es- ate in filing the appraisal and inven- tory in the probate court shall include an affidavit stating the property therein contained on which state or municipal taxes have been paid dur ing the previous year. A copy Of the andaY1t is submitted to the tax come
 missioner upon which falls the dex- trous discrimination of taxable and non-taxab1e property; the z-examina-A ton of evidence regarding the period of possession of the property prior to the death of the decedent, and last. b Ut not least, the imposition of a tax of per cent. per annum for five years,sw hichstaxsi it is necessary for the estate to pay before the discharge of the administration will be permitted.
 The law will be prolific in the in- crease Of the states revenue because Of the enforcement of the tax on se- Scurities in the hands of the holders and the individual who takes advan-. tage of the permission to list his prop erty within the next six weeks with the state treasurer and pay the per cent. tax thereon, and thus saves his estate in case of his death the pay rnent of 10 per cent. as a penalty for his neglect, is a circumspective Shy lock.
 Intangible personal property has always been the bugbear for the as sessors to. locate; and while bonds, notes, and other choses in action to they due of $61,424,S44 were regis tered last year with the state treas urerA and tax of 4 mills paid there OT1s which tax exempted such securi- tics to the owners in the rnunicipaH- ties of their residence, other holders of similar taxable securities have convinced themselves of the unfair ness of the tax and evaded it en- tirely.
 The act is broad in it's uses of the word stproperty's and it would appear that furniture, ,sjewe1ry, poultry, auto mobiles, cash, as well as bonds,< notes, other chooses in action, and property in general which has evaded taxation in the past are subject to the pro visions of the law. The state will re- tain 2 per cent. of the 10 per cent. tax the balance to the town of the dece- dents donici1e-
 Benefit to Savings Depositors-
 Another act worthy of publicity is Chapt 3O1 of the Public Acts of 1915. which provides that national banks may save depositors in such de- partments liability from taxation by e1ecting to make a payment annually of 4 of 1 per cent. to the state on the total amount of heir deposits ak of October l, with certain deductions. An election to pay the tax is filed with the tax commissioner on or be- fore the thirtieth day of next Sep temoer. Any sdepositor in savings tsdepartment of national bank which does not file such election to pay will be included in the list of deposftors sent to >the assessors of their town 30 days after the assessment date, by the national banks. All such deposits in excess of $100 will be listed by the | local assessors and the penalty of o per cent. added thereto, on which total amount the local tax will be collected.
 Prudent banks will doubtless pay the state tax, otherwise the likelihood f money where it will be exempt. Banks e1ecting to pay the tax will advertise thief act broadly for it will be an at tractive feature in banking to know ones deposit is exempt.
 The General Assembly of 1915 passed another tax law which will cause the. municipalities in which property is located specially exempted by either the legislature, by the vote of the townspeopIe, or by action of the town officials to pay the penalty for the privilege given. Such towns in their reports to the tax conrnis- sioner after August will be required to include the value of such specially exempted property as part of the grand list and the taxes which would have been payable on such valuation I if the property were taxed. These l amounts will be used in the compu' tation of the state tax, causing town to pay state tax on property located therein, receiving special privileges of exemption.
 The town of Stafford recently voted an exemption to the Hope Mill for a perfo of ten years. which action the i present governor when attorney gem seraI ruled to be absolutely illegal on
 the part of any municipality The ad- vantage of a town in securing the To-
 cation of an industry from which it receives no taxes will be lessened, and the inequality between towns will be eliminated by the state taxation of
 such exempted property.