The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1920-02-21

Assistant Attorney General F..
E. Packard Analyses Abstract
of Taxes for 1919 Just Issued
BY Commissioner Wallace
Load Shifted from Personal
Property to Real, and John
Farmer Is Made the Goat

How Il staggering tax burden Of
more than $}6.OOO.OOO has been i'm
posed upon North Dakota by the wild
theories, ineticiencies Of eXtrava
gances of the Townley government
and how the bulk of the load has been
shifted from personal property to real
from the shoulders of bond-holders.
mrotgageowners, railways. telegraph,
telephone, express and freight line
companies to the farmers, is shown in
careful analysis of the abstract OF
taxes for 1919 made public today by
Assistant Attorney General +. L.
Packard, formerly chairman of the
North Dakota tax commission.
Mr.. Packard's statement is as fol-
lows:
''When l made the prediction last
April that the tax burden upon farm
lands in North Dakota would he i'll
creased more than fifty percent by
the new tax laws, a howl of indign;l
tion went out from the Townley news
papers. The justification of that pre-
dictfon it at hand. The abstract of
xOI l'1c has bStH
by the State Tax Commissioner and
with Nelson County estimated. the to-
tai general property tax levy for 1919
for the state and all its political sub
divisions is $2S.201 .9G6.3O as against
S2O.399. .6S2.17 for 1913, or an increase
of $7,SO2.2S4.13 or 80 percent. This
is the most astonishing increase that
this state has experienced since state
hood, but this does not tell the entire
story as to farm, lands.
TAN BURDEN SHIFTED
''As / suggested last year, the tax
has been shifted by the new laws
from personal property and from the
public service corporations to real es.
tate. According to a compilation Of
the state Tax Commissioner. in 1918
farm land. exclusive of improvements.
bore 54.S9 percent of the total tax
burden. while III 1919 it bore 7O.3G
percent In other words. in 1918 farm
lands bore S11.197.3S564 Of the total
tax burden while in 1919 the burden
borne by them had increased to $19,-
742,9O3.49: a total shifting to farm
lands Of $S.645517.S5, or an increase
over, the burden of .:191s of, 77.2.22 per
cent. This percentage indicates both
the shifting of the tax incident and
the increase in the tax burden. It
means: that the farmers tax bill has
been Increased on his real estate by
more than II percent during the last
year:
IT o. be sure there are some offsets
to this increase. There lis a slight
shift from farm personally to other
personality. In 1913 farm improve
ments, paid 1867 percent of the total
taX burden Assuming that that ratio
Wduld have held good in 1919. the
owners of acre property saved $564.-
$1,000 in 1919. According to the State
Tax Commissioner in 1918 farm per-
sonal .property'E.Ia D.1&3 .peHenti, ,of
the total ta X burden or 90.
In 1919; it paid 3904 percent of the
total tax burden or $l.6OS.S7S. 90.
Here also is a savivns to the owner
Of acre property of SSG4.454.00 Add
Ing this. TO the saving Dn farm i'm
prOvements we get total saving Of
$1.429, ,O33. Deductine this from the
q total 1919 burden upon acre property
we get $40. .742 .9O3OO: otfsctting the
burden on farm land to that extent VT
reduce it to $1S,313.S70.0O or G4.45
percent. THIS FIGURE GAG percent
REPRESENTS THE ACTUAL AVER
AGE INCREASE OF THE STATE IN
THE TAN BURDEN UPON FARM
LANDS.
MANY SPECIAL TAXES
'ln addition to the direct burden
there are u number of special taxes
The oil tax is a sales tax upon yaso-
line and Kerosene That portion of
the fiat three cents an acre tax for
the Hail Insurance Department which
is levied upon land not insured and
for which no benefit is received. is a
direct tax burden upon all tillable
land not insured in the state hail in
surance department. and will always
remain burden even under COM
pulsory law. since it is applied to
unbroken tillable land as well as
broken tillable land. The motor We
hicles have been withdrawn from gen
eral taxation. and the burden they
bore has fallen upon other property.
So lLdI lut ullltlNllSC bNS"SSii liz
present tax and the old license fees.
is an added burden. The stocks and
bonds tax is a tax of fifty cents a
thousand upon the actual value OF
stocks and bonds Of all corporations
transacting bu>ine> in the state. The
miscellaneous burden includes butter
fat tax. lawyers tax. and great
many fees and taxes not otherwise
enumerated. To recapitulate:
General Property tax. S2S. POI $500
OH tdA o'o.UV..oJ
Acre Hail tax .......... o1O.2O9.IG
Motor vehicle ..... 456. S42 ~
Stocks and bonds tax .. 215.OOO.V
Miscellaneous taxes -. 3D.. 10000
lOtdl .Sou.OUA.U20.9J
'Deducting the old taxes from the
above total. we get AN increase in the
actual general and special tax burden
Of 1919 over 1913 Of about 4S percent
iCr lne entire state,
IN addition to these burdens which
are taxes prol1r. tnert : he al.
hail indemnity tax ana the sIscia