Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-03-21
Intangible Tax Bill
Argument Before Committee

All ulilCut DClVIC NO1tilltAttCC
We have heard SO many favorable
illusions to the argument of our City
Solicitor, Mr.. NJ. E. Sawtelle, on the
Intangible Tax Bill, before the Com
mittee on taxation, that we take
pleasure in publishing it in full, for
the benefit of our wide circle of read
ers.
Mr.. SAWTELLE: Mr.. Chairman,
and Gentlemen Of the Committee:
suppose that in consideriog the pro-
priety of favorable report upon any
bill before committee of this legis-
lature, the question as to whether or
not a given act is within the provi-
sions of the constitution of the state
Is a primary one, it being worse than
useless to enact legislation not with
IN the power of the Legislature
I believe this act to be clearly un-
constitutional; but shall not further
pursue that line of argument, but
will merely suggest certain reasons
which seem to me proper, in voicing
the objection of our own city, which
| represent here, to a favorable re-
port upon this bill by this committee,
or its adoption by this legislature.
am confident in the belief that this
committee will unanimously report
unfavorably upon the bill, and that
it will share the fate of similar acts
introduced before this body during
the last decade.
The bill proposes to lay tax upon
intangible property, a state tax, in
the place of a municipal tax, and
says, For the purposes of this act,
such property shall be known as in
tangible property and shall include
obligations for money or other prop
erty, money at interest, debts due the
person to be taxed more than he Is
owing, public stocks and securities
shares in moneyed and other corpo-
rations within or without the state
and annuities payable to the person
to be taxed"
Allusion has been made by previ-
Gus speakers to our present tax law.
Under the present law the assessors
are required to notify the tax payers
of their several cities and towns to
bring in all their estates, real and
personal. If they fail they are there
by barred from making application
for any abatement of the taxes which
the assessors have right to as
sess; unless they bring in such list,
and unless they satisfy the assessors
that they were unable to furnish the
list at the time appointed; and if
they bring in such list they may be
required to answer under oath all
proper questions in regard to the ma
ture and extent of their holdings; and
failure to so answer and sign such
answers bars any appeal from the
finding of the assessors in any given
case. So that it appears that every
dollar of property, tangible and in
tangible, may be taxed under the
present law. If the tax payer brings
in his list it furnishes a basis for
taXation--if he refuses or neglects,
the assessors may doom him to the
extent of every dollar that they think
he is worth, and he has no appeal.
1t is a well known fact, gentlemen
of the committee. that the municipal
tiles of this state are staggering I'M
der their tax burdens now The tax
rate of the city of Augusta for the
year 1920 was 80 mills. To show
just what this tax will do to us,
want to call the attention of the com
mittee to two items of intangible
property taxed by Augusta in 1920,
bank stock and money at interest
Bank stock, as shown by the asses
sors' books taxed in Augusta in 1920
was $334,SS9. Money at interest was
$437,012, making a total for the two
items of $771,901, which yielded a tax
of S3O,104.13. Think of it, gentlemen
of the committee,-almost $4,000 900 in
taxable prOpertye taken away from
this little city by the operation of this
bill, and 100000 and over taken from
it's treasury. And what is true of Au-
gusta is true in a greater or less ex-
tent of every city and town in this
state. This bill is inconsistent with
itself. 1t is difficult to determine it's
meaning. Section /, lines IA to Is,
provides, But nothing in this act
shall be so construed as to apply to
any property exempted from taxation
by the laws of this state. That would
seem to mean, Mr. Chairman, that
any property exempted by the laws of
this state from taxation would not
be affected by the provisions of this
bill. But Chapter 10, Section 6. par
agraph IS of the Revised Statutes
provides that mortgages on real es-
tate situated within the state are ex-
empt from taxation, and Section "a,
the last section of the present bill,
lc
cordance with Section "a, making
real estate mortgages taxable, al
though the first section seems to pro-
vide that the act does not apply to
anything presently exempted from
taxation by the present. laws of the
state.
Now assuming, as we must assume,
that it is the intent and purpose of
this bill and it has been already so