The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1917-01-18
TAX EXPERT LYONS SPEAKS.

Thos. E. Lyons, member of the
State Tax Commission, addressed a
gathering at the city council room
Tuesday evening. 1t was the regular
meeting of the Chamber of Commerce
members. A Thousand people instead
of 70 should haYe heard this talk 1t
was lucid, educational and intensly in
teresting. He showed that all assess
ments for tax purpose should have the
same standard for valuing and that
this should be full sale value; that
raising assessment does not increase
taxes. Assessors distribute the amount
to be raised fixed by other officers.
90% of the tax burden is controlled by
local officers. OF the $265, 900 raised in
Manitowoc in 1915 only $4,000 went to
the state. Neither are local officers
responsible for high taxes. Public
life in Wisconsin is pure. Town and
city officers do not want high taxes.
They try to keep them down. The
demand of people for new things must
be met and must be paid for. The
state is supported by corporation taxes
and inheritance taxes and a small part
Of the income tax. But taxes go up
and all are eager to know why. Gov.
Philip made an earnest effort to re-
duce taxes and succeeded in reducing
the state levy but taxes were higher
than ever because the state controls
only 10% of the taxes. Taxes will
continue to go up. The average citi.
zen is responsible. He demands good
roads, good schools, park and the like.
Then the cost OF the old things has
gone up. We can't have the accomo.
dations of today at the cost of 20 years
ago.
We are often compared with other
states. When everything is consider
ed the Wisconsin showing is excellent.
For instance. The cost of state gov
ernment here is twice that of iowa but
the cost of their county government
is twice that of ours all due to the fact
that the functions of government in the
two states are differently distributed.
The aggregate of all taxes is higher
in Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota than
in Wisconsin.
The backward states like some souTh-
ern states spend little and get little.
Our two great tax eaters are highways
and schools and no one wants to go
backward on those. The cost of gov
ernnent is lowest in South Carolina
$40 per head; highest in California, S7S
per head. The average for the
United States is S35 per head and in
it is Wisconsin S28. These are the 1913
figures of the U. S. census bureau.
We hear lot about our state com
missions raising taxes but the entire
cost of the entire general government
is only small factor. 1t is per capi-
ia $l.77 in Wisconsin, s. % in Mich-
gan, 81. II in Iowa, Sl.S5 in Minnesota,
So A in Illinois and 4.40 in California.
Our education is enormously expen-
sive being second among the states.
If the entire cost of commissions was
eliminated it would not be felt. Salar.
les account for only AZ of the money
collected for taxes.
Mr.. Lyons then briefly explained the
commissions proposed pending changes
in thu laws. They want to abolish To-
cal assessors and personal property
taxation and assessment of realty only
once in four years. He says that the
abolition Of personal property taxes
has been effected in all of Europe ex.
cept Switzerland and will ultimately
prevail here.
The talk occupied an hour and
half.
Mr.. Lyons paid a tribute to the
splendid work of Mr.. Connell in Mani
towoc and Calumet counties,
Deputy Conservation Warden John
Egan gave a Is minutes talk on the
proposed changes in the game laws
which was listened to with attention.