The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-07-27

ing the 4-10 per cent. tax to the state treasurer, instead of the local tax.
 In common practice, we are in formed the average holder of securi- ties has not paid much attention to the taxes which the law imposed thereon, because there was no prac- tical way of enforcing the law, but enactment of the statute.
 As stated, there are two ways of meeting the question. One is by own ing only non-taxable securities, the other by carving out one's tax from income on taxable securities. Just which is the better plan must be de- termined by each individual. Nom taxable securities are selling at pret- ty high prices. and oftentimes one can procure taxable security and. after paying the tax, have a larger income than he would have from a non-taxable security. and this with equal safety. too. It must be re- membered, though. that when the law was first enacted whereby taxes on securities might be paid to the state. the rate was made 2-10 per cent, and lit has since been doubled. It may be increased again. although we don't think this Is likely to happen in the near future.
 Our own opinion, fortified by cor respondence, is that securities held for investment by ordinary manufac- turing orf mercantile corporations must pay A tax. independent of the tax levied against such corporation by the state, and based on their net -in- comes. If securities be held for in- vestment by a corporation paying a tax on its gross receipts. we doubt if they are specifically and separately taxable in the hands of such corpora tions.
 Securities held by guardians. con- servators, trustees, and the like, are taxable, just as if held by individ- uals.
 Securities held by church societies, hospitals, and other religious and charitable institutions are generally free from tax, at least up to a certain amount. These matters are regulat- l ed by statute, or by the charters of the corporations themselves.
 | Massachusetts has recently passed a law providing for a state income tax.
 which, subject to certain exemptions
 of revenue derived from non-taxable
 securities, etc.. is based on a 6 per cent tax A commission authorized
 by the last General Assembly of Con-
 necticut, has been holding hearings during the winter. and is expected to
 present to the incoming Legislature
 a plan and recommendations for the revision of our tax laws Whether
 this commission will favor an income
 tax, or what line of recommendation | it will adopt, we do not know. The
 commission is. however. an able one,
 and has been giving thorough atten- ton to it's work in hand, and we may expect from it very illuminating re- port. An eminent citizen who had read a preceding edition of this treatise,
 wrote up inauiring about the taxable
 statutes of mortgage on church I property. And he furnished hard lquestion. The statute which makes the ordinary mortgage non-taxable.
 requires that the property on which a mortgage is secured shall be assess
 ed to at least the amount of the mort gage, and also that an agreement shall Il obtain whereby the borrower pays the taxes. Now church property is not
 assessable and does not appear in the
 ordinary local lists, and we presume no church mortgage contains cove nant that the borrower shall pay the tax, for the very good reason that there are no taxes to pay on church property. It is obvious that strict construction of the statute will leave the church mortgage taxable. and yet how ridiculous that seems to have a mortgage on church property taxable when a mortgage on ordinary property is not taxable. We believe the Leg lislature should amend our laws 90 that mortgages on church property may be declared non-taxable.
 In order to obtain exemption from local taxation, and secure the privil- ege of paying at the much lower state lrate of mills, lists of taxable secu-
 rites must be presented to the state treasurer before the day taxes are
 laid on the lists in the various towns.
 This day is commonly called tax day.
 It is the days as of which ownership of taxable securities is certified to,
 and occurs on October of each year.
 in all towns and cities in Connecticut,
 except the following, which have spe-
 cial tax days assigned to them as in-
 dicated: Ansonia. September 1;
 Bridgeport, September 1; Fairfield,
 Milford, Orange, Stratford. Middle I town, May 1; New Haven, June 1;
 Wallingford, July 1; Waterbury, Mar. l l..
 This treatise deals with taxation of
 securities by the state of Connecticut
 and the municipal subdivisions there of It does not touch in any way upon the federal income tax law,
 which is a matter entirely separate and apart from the taxation we have
 been discussing. The federal income
 tax law is too complex and elaborate ] to be treated of here, but 1t is fair