The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1922-04-08
WHERE DID
MONEY co
THEY ASK?
Roads and Schools Biggest
Expense, Records
Show

1Ao Adi H1eF IL going 10 tHc Dd4ih
to borrow money to pay his taxes.
The home-owner in the cities of
the north end OF the county will
have to squeeze and serape TO raise
the money FOR his taxes out of tbs
hattened pay envelope.
Three years ago nobody worried
about the taxes. The farmer sold
his wheat at $3.50 a bushel and
bought e. Cadillac.
The mill workers pay check
looked like the gross receipts Of a
burlesque show in a mining town
on Saturday night
Now taxes are the bane OF exist
ence in Lake county. Everybody
is sore.
The trouble, of course, lies with
the people themselves. When the
period OF denation Sc. In we stopped
buying silk shirts and out the
standard of living down TO At the
income. But we went right en-
signing gravel road petitions anu
nobody demonstrated against
million dollar school bond issues.
Seventy and one-half per cent CT
county treasurer go into the schools
and roads.
When taxpayers stop signing
gravel road petitions and remon-
strate against school bond issues
then taxes will come down.
SALARY CTIoNs.
Reducing the salaries paid the
help some, but not much. Only IL
per cent OF the total tax collection
is paid out in salaries and office
maintenance. When the legislature
cuts down tho pay of the clerk,
treasurer and sheriff. as II will un-
doubtedly, the consequent reduc-
tion in taxes Will not be notice
able:
The total taxes to be collected
this year follows: s5,7ss,s6s.52.
This money. or as much of it as
the treasurer can collect, will be
disbursed as follows:
sts,e. per cent; schools 541z
per cent; county. - per cent, roads.
Is per cent; township. 3 per cent,
and towns IN per cent.
Tho industries will pay 40 per
cent OF ths taxes and the railroads
17s per cent, leaving AZ per cent
70 be paid by the land owner.
Out Of the county tax amounting
TO ss4s,so5.54 viii be deducted
s1ge.s21.11 Co pay the county debt,
leaving a balance OF $757,2s4.43 for
comfy purposes. The county board
or truancy will receive s59.76z.f7,
the county poor farm. s57. 1912 and
s75,$2o.5S w il go to cefray the ex
pense OF assessing tho county.
The tuition tax for tie schools
is s1.s49.94s.1s and the special
school tax. sss5.2s1.71.
The road contractors got more
than million dollars at the final
1921 settlement in December.
And now the cities or Gary. East
Chicago and Hammond are planning
90 spend between two and three
million dollars for new schools this
year, while there are sixty petitions
for gravel roads on file in the of ce
OF the county commissioners!
The people demand more schools
and more roads but they find it
hard to pay for them. The schools
Aside from demonstrating against !
more schools and more roads there
is one other way for the small tax
payer TO get some relief from high
taxes That is to demand that ane
state legislature do away with the
Goodrich tax law and the state tax
commission that cur the assessed
valuation of the Inland steel Com |
pany Ave million dollars.
Since the Goodr ch tax law was
passed the taxes of the small prop |
erty owner have mounted while the |
taxes OF the big industry have been
proportionately lower. Before that
law went into effect property was
appraised at about twenty-five per |
cent Of it's true valuation The |
new 1aw stipulated that it should /
be assessed 100 per cent The re-
adjustment gave the Goot~%ch tax
commission q chance to get in its |
deadly work. The net result was
that while the average small tax
payer had his valuations increased I
TO 100 per cent the major ~ of n /
duStries are valued at from so 10 !
so per cent of the actual invest I
ment
Even 50. the industries pay the +
greater portion of the taxes. Ham (
mond, Whiting, Eas- Chicago and I
Gary paid S2.5S per cent. of taxes T
in 1921 while that portion of the
county south of the Little Calu IT /
river paid 1742 per cent
The proportion OF taxes TO be
pa this year by the industries /
ra lroads and all other taxpayers.
foiloys:
GARY.