The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-03-22
BANKERS MAKE BIG PROTEST AGAINST
 INCREASE OF TAXES
Oppose Plan to Boost State Revenue Say They Will
 Have to Gut Interest.

Hartford, March 22-About 80 bank CTS representing approximately $3o0,- Ooo, 900 of capital appeared at a hearing before the legislative committee on finance last week to protest strenuously against an increase in the taxation of savings banks which would amount, yearly, to something between $6,0O0 and $5O,O0o The former sum was the estimate of Deputy State Treas urer B. Frank Marsh, the the latter that of the bankers. MT. Marsh told them that they could easily afford either amount, but some of the bank CTS hinted that they would have to cut their interest rates if forced to pay it. A hearing on a bill for the additional taxation of insurance companies, state banks and trust companies died for want of a champion, but a substitute was presented by the president of the Southern New England Telephone Co.,R advocating the conf1scation, by the state, of about $75O, GOO now paid an nually to cities in the state as real es- tate taxation.
 Senate Bill No: STA provides for the computation of a tax on savings banks on a. basis of the assessed valuation of it's property. The present law com putes the tax by subtracting from the tax payable on the banks, deposits the tax payable on the banks real prop
 
 sessed valuation of the property from the deposits and compute the tax upon the result It would tend to eQualize taxes throughout the state as it would not take into consideration variations in local tax rates.
 i Deputy Treasurer B. Frank Marsh said that the present law taxing saw ings banks one-quarter of one per cent. allows deduction of local taxes from this amount and other large deduc- the deduction amounts to eight times the proIerty owned and in smaller cities and town four times.
 Tax Commissioner William H. Cor bin said the present method of de- ducting taxes instead of assessed val uauons is objectionable for two req sons, that real estate owned by saw ings banks is taxed only one-quarter i of one per cent while other real estate 1 is taxed at much higher rate and because savings banks have little or no interest in the tax rates of their towns 1 or cities. He added that the bill would increase the taxation of some of these banks heavily and still others. only a little. He realized, he said, that this was a bad year to ask banks to stand increased taxation.
 Edward s. Hunt of Waterbury, rep resenting the Savings Bank Associa- { tion of Connecticut, spoke in opposi- tion to the bill. The latter said that the present tax exemptions are com paratiYely small that that the bill would make his bank in Waterbury pay about $1,2O0 a, year more than 1t now pays in addition to increased tax les on foreclosed real estate that 1t owns The savings banks,'' he add ed, already pay a larger tax to the state than any but two classes in the 1 state. In the case of many of our banks we are now paying a higher \ tax than if individuals owned their entire assets on account of greater in dfvidua1 exemptions There are 625. 900 deposits in the banks of the state Tn thrift of the depositors ought tof be rewarded by the payment of as large an interest as possible.
 | There would be serious consid era l tton on the part of many of the small Ter savings banks whether they could if the bill passed, afford to continue 1pay4ng four per cent. interest," In answer to 8 question from the commit tee he said that the difference to the banks that would be made by the bill would be very much greater than the I 6,0o0 mentioned by MT Marsh. He knew of one bank alone that would have to pay that much extra
 Arthur T. Nett1eton of the Newtown Savings Bank, said that the small banks would be vfta1ly affected by the bill and that the increase in taxation of his bank would amount to about $25o -
 Other speakers in opposition to the bill included Willis H Lyon Of the
 Walter E. Houghton of the Citizens Savings Bank of Stamford and Miles | Lewis Peck of the Bristol Savings Bank