New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-20
Income Is Less
Than Outlay in
Half the States
Tax Burden Much Lighter Than
That Imposed by
municipalities

| ing from their revenues their total ex-
penses for governmental costs, interest
on indebtedness and other charges. Or
this number eleven are actually not
meeting their current expenses and IN
terest. The twenty-five remaining
states are collecting revenues IN eX-
cess of the total expenditures for cur
rent expenses, interest and other out
lays.
Sam L. Rogers, director OF the Blu
reau of Census, Department Of Com
merce, presents these and other i'm
portant facts in his report on "Finan-
cial Statistics Of States, 1916" soon to
be issued.
Aggregate Revenues
The report shows that the aggregate
revenues of all the states in 1916 were
S466, s46,74S; the aggregate expendi-
lures for current governmental costs,
including interest on indebtedness,
s425, O71 ,093; and the aggregate out
lays for permanent improvements, $685.
O69, 206. The first two Of these items
represent increases Of IL per cent and
SO per cent, respectively, as compared
with the corresponding figures for the
preceding fiscal year; but the OUTLAWS
show decrease of 106 per cent.
! OF the total revenues, S363,968,553,
or about rs per cent, represents re-
/ ceipts from the various kinds of taxes.
I Nearly half of this amount, S76,1O2,Ss3,
was derived from the general property
tax, made up of taxes on real estate
and personal property. Of the remain
der, the largest item, sSS,137, $50, was
contributed by special property and
other special taxes; $58,829,607 was
raised from business taxes other than
on the liquor traffic; Successes came
from the liquor traffic; $19,365,499 was
derived from license taxes and other
than on business, and s2,27O,321 from
poll taxes.
The largest sources of revenue out
side of taxes are found in the earnings
of general departments and in interest.
The earnings of general departments
are made up of receipts from fees,
charges, minor sales, etc, by the vari-
Gus departments and Offices of the state
governments exclusive of the public
service enterprises. These yielded,
I during the fiscal year 1916, S53,o44,692
in revenues. Receipts from interest on
current deposits and on the various
state funds amounted to S23,156,O92.
! Other sources of revenue-Special as
sessments and special charges for out
| lays; fines, forfeits and escheats; sub
ventions and grants from the Federal
government; donations; pension as
sessments; highway privileges; rents,
| and earnings of publlc-serylce enter
prises-yielded a total of S25,977,4ll.
| For all the states taken as a group
| the per capita receipts from property
| taxes were $3.50; from other taxes,
| SLOT; from earnings of general de-
! partments, 81 cents; and from all other
sources combined, 90 cents.
Expenditures
/ The expenditures during the year for
| governmental costs, which aggregate
! $510,134 ,299, were, in the order of their
/ Importance: For expenses of general
/ departments, S404,236,243; for OUTLAWS,
( S85, 063 ,206 for interest on indebted
! ness, S19,253,566 for expenses of pub
/ lie service enterprises railroads, toll
bridges, ferries, canals, docks and
wharves, ETC., maintained by thirteen
states only, 1851, 284. Expenses Of
! general departments comprise pay
ments for education schools and Ii
braries), Sl53,825,74S; for charities,
hospitals and corrections, S94,057 1927;
/ for general government" Legislative,
/ executive and judicial branches), S47,-
1879; for highways, S29,213,S92; for
protection to person and property
! militia and armories; regulation Of
corporations, professional occupations,
labor, liquor traffic, sale of certain
commodities, and weights and meas
ures; protection of fish and game, etc. },
/ S27,81l,275; for general and miscel-
laneous items, including pensions and
gratuities, S2l, 1897 ,223; for development
and conservation Of natural resources,
$40 1893 1855; for conservation Of health
and sanitation, $685. ,943, and for edu-
cational and general recreation, parks
and reservations and monuments, $685.
$50. The average per capita expendl-
lures for all governmental costs, in
Guiding interest and OUTLAWS, in the
forty-eight states were $50.
Burden Light
The relative lightness of the state
tax burden is brought out clearly by
comparison of state and municipal tax
alton and governmental costs. For the
2l3 American cities of over 10000 pop
ulation, the average per capita ex-
penditures for all governmental costs,
including interest and OUTLAWS, during
the fiscal year 1916. amounted to S331l,
whereas the per capita governmental
cost expenditures for the states aver
aged only $50. For the cities the
average per capita expenditures for
governmental costs, including interest
but excluding outlays, were S24.20, and
for the states, s4.25. For the cities the
average per capita receipts from prop
erty taxes were s19.74; for the states,
S2.56.
For the forty-eight states, taken to-
gether, the payments for governmental
costs, including interest and outlays,
exceeded the revenues by S43, l87 ,55l,
but the revenues exceeded the current
expenses and interest by SAL ,875,655, an
amount nearly half as great as the
total outlays, which aggregated $685.
063,206. In other words, the states
taken as a group are paying, from their
revenues, all their current expenses
and interest and nearly half their out
lays.