The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-03-20
MILITARY |. CENSUS
TO BE i<XEN
BY LISTERS
Information Given 7y Tax Com
missioner al annual N Keeting
ABOUT s5 IN ATTENDANCE
County Listers Met With Mr.. PIumIey
This Afternoon for Cay Of
Instruction.

Charles A. Plumley, state tax COM
missioner. was especially pleased
with the attendance of about 35 list
ers of the county at the meeting this
afternoon.
In the course of his talk he men
toned the fact that Governor Graham,
who has issued recently the order
calling for the listers to make mill
tary census of the state, does not ex-
pect listers who are members of the
legislature to leave their duties at
Montpelier to comply with the duties
imposed upon them by the order call
ing for the enumeration of all men be-
tween the ages of IS and 45. Discus
sing the listers duties he brought out
the following points:
Offsets-kemember that no offset
can be claimed or allowed on any in
debtedness which does not bear inter-
est at rate of six per cent or over.
A man who has been enabled to bor-
row money at five per cent by reason
Of the fact that such a loan is exempt
from taxation If properly evidenced
has had the benefit of the exemption
feature of the law He cannot have
the benefit of the offset feature of the
law. An Offset cannot be lawfully
figured or allowed unless it is figured
according to the rule of law pre-
scribed and laid down in section of
No. "a Of the Acts Of 1915. An offset
cannot be deduced from the value of
the real estate, and it cannot be de-
Quoted from the appraised value of
the personal estate of the taxpayer
II taxpayer claims an offset, he
must include in his inventory the
items which the law requires him to
include. II listers proceed to allow
an offset in any manner other than
that provided by section 4 of the act,
they are acting contrary to law and
by the provisions of the act itself may
be fined not more than $500. In bull
letin Z 1l2 are examples which make
plain what they must do and, how they
must do 1t. iaNs
The lister and his work-The lister
is the most important official in the
whole scheme of general property tax
alton. The responsibility for the en-
forcement of the tax laws which rests
upon the listers is not to be underes-
timated. AS a rule they are under
paid with a result that it is difficult
to build up and continue in office a
statewide trained and efficient corps
CT listers. From the selfish stand
point of every taxpayer, 1t is the
highest kind of economy to see that
listers are competent and efficient.
Necessarily it follows that they must
be paid a wage commensurate with
the work which they do and the re-
sponsibility which they assume. A
town may vote to raise money on its
grand list to defray local expenses
and to meet assessments levied by the
state, but as a practical proposition
no revenue can be raised on such
grand list unless the listers do their
duty and file legal grand list.
40 Uncollected, but collectible taxes
Towns are borrowing money to meet
expenses when there are uncollected
but collectible 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
borrowing. In chapter "a of the Pub
lie Statutes it is held that 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 justice
and show cause why an extent should
not be issued against him.
Legalizing grand lists-The prac-
tice which has prevailed in the past
of applying to the legislature for an
act to legalize grand lists of the sew
eral towns should be discontinued. II
the defect complained of in the grand
list consists of something omitted by
the listers, which the legislature
might have dispensed with by a prior
act, of course such list may be
legalized by subsequent act OF the
legislature, but under the law as il
now stands, there Is no occasion for
making application to the legislature
TO correct defect in form. BY fol.
lowing the provisions of No. AT of the
Acts of 1910, any town may correct
It's grand list If occasion therefor
arises.
Bond for a deed--Under bond for
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 purchas
er the duty Of payment rests on the
purchaser. The naked legal title re
mains in the vendor, but his lien is
not an interest in the land but mere
ly an encumbrance. The rights of q
vendor under a bond for deed are
lTnntfVnal