Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1917-03-28
LISTERS AT NEWPORT.
CONTINUED from Pace onel

sonal estate of the taxpayer. If =
I TAXPAYER claims an Offset. he must IN
clude in his inventory the items which
the law requires him to include. If
listers proceed to allow an Offset IN
any manner other than that provided
BY Sec. of the act, they are acting
contrary TO law, and by the provision
Of the act itself may be fined not
more than $500. In bulletin I = are
examples which make plain what they
must do and how they must do 1t.
The lister and his work-The lister
is the most important official in the
whole scheme of general property
taxation. The responsibility for the
enforcement, of the tax law which
rests upon the listers is not to be un-
derestimated. AS a rule they are un-
derpaid, with a result that it is diff
cult to build up and continue in Office
q statewide trained and efficient corps
of listers. From the selfish stand
point of every taxpayer it is the high
est kind of economy TO see that listers
are competent and efficient. Neces-
sarily it follows that they must be
paid a wage commensurate with the
work which they do and the response
bility which they assume. A town
may vote to raise money on its grand
meet assessments levied by the state,
but as a practical proposition no rev.
enue can be raised on such grand list
unless the listers do their duty and
file legal grand list.
Uncollected but collectable taxes
Towns are borrowing money to meet
expenses when there are uncollected
but collectable taxes due the town IN
the hands of the collectors sufficient
in amount if collected to do away in
large part with the necessity for bor-
rowing. In chapter "a of the public
statutes it is held that a collector
who unlawfully neglects TO collect
and pay over a tax delivered to. him
is accountable for such taxes and
may be cited to appear before jus
tice and show cause why an extent
should not be issued against him.
Legalizing grand hsts-The prac-
tice which has prevailed in the past
of applying to the legislature for an
act to legalize the grand lists of the
several towns should be discontinued.
If the defect complained of in the
grand list consists of something
omitted by the listers, which the
legislature might have dispensed with
by prior act, of course such a list
may be legalized by subsequent act
of the legislature, but under the law
as it now stands, there is no occasion
for making application to the legisla-
ture to correct defect IN form. By
following the provisions of No. At of
the acts of 1910, any town may cor
rect its grand list if occasion therefor
arises.
a deed the property is properly set to
the vendor, and he is holden for the
taxes as between him and the town,
but as between him and the purchaser
the duty of payment rests on the pur-
chaser. The naked legal title remains
in the vendor, but his lien is not an
interest IN the land but merely an in
cumbrance. The rights of a vendor
under the bonds for a deed are chosen
in action, viz: A right to receive or
recover a debt of money. If this debt
is not so evidenced as to be exempt
under the provisions of No. 81 of the
acts of 1915, then it is taxable.
Value-Our statutes use the words
just value" true value" value in
money" anonymously. An act re-
curing property to be taxed accord
ing to its true value In money, means
its value in money to the owner rath-
er than to another. True value
means the value it has in exchange
for money, the price which could be
obtained therefor at a private sale,
and not at a forced or auction sale.
As used In revenue law, it means
the amount at which the property
would be taken In the payment of
just debt due from a solvent debtor.
Assessment-If a person wilfully
omits to make and swear to and de-
liver an inventory, or to answer any
interrogatory therein as required by
law, or makes false answer or
statement therein, or If the listers be-
ieve that an inventory does not con-
tain a full, true and correct statement
of the taxable property of person,
the listers shall ascertain as best they
can the amount of taxable property
of such person, and set the same in
the grand list at it's value in money.
This is called assessing" a taxpayer,
and the duty is made mandatory up
on the listers. The practice which
prevails m some towns of not requir-
ing the taxpayers to file inventories
is an essential violation Of the law,
and towns in which such a custom
prevails have an absolutely illegal
grand list so far as the lists of per-
sons made are concerned, unless the
listers proceed as is provided by law
70 assess the taxpayer, and to give
him the notice required by statute
Money loaned-The act relating to
evidences of money loaned, written or
endorsed at an indeterminate or con-
ditional rate has cleared the atmos-
phere SO far as loans covered by il
are concerned. By virtue Of It's pro-
visions a note or other evidence Of
money loaned mentioned in No. "a Of
the acts Of 1915, which was originally
written at 6 per cent, but has later
been endorsed or rewritten so that
By its present terms the loan is at
per cent SO long as the provisions Of
No. "a Of the act Of 1915 are n force,
Is evidence Of loan. entitled TO the
exemufion