Milford chronicle., 1924-12-19


this class of property is necessary
for 'iv'ng and should be fairness
b exempted; all of it is so hard to
reach that there would be small
ga to the State in trying to assess
II. Moreover taxation of this form of
personal property is likely to result
E n unfa rness and abu e. Though it
may be possible to quickly survey
and appraise the possessions of
sma householder, t i quite inn
possib e to make a complete exam
nation of property contl ned n
large houses o. to make a fair ap-
praisement of that which is d.sclos-
ed. AS a result an attempt to tax
personal property of arv kind by
a Gessment is kelly to result in un-
ia r2ess to the man of small pos
sess' 'ons.
20. VIII, is the purpose Of the
Firing Fee now in force and how
are the proceeds of this collection
used?
The name filling fee" creates a
wrong impress on. All of these fees
are turned into the .Schoo' Fund
W thout any deduct 'ons whatever.
The state appropriation for the col
lector's office is 100000. paid from
the Genera Fund of the State and
no part of the fling fee or any taxes
col ected for school purposes are
used to support the co'lec or's Of
flee. The filing fees contributed
$2O6.48A n +ha School Fund las
year C923-1924).
Every tizen of the State is in
terested personally the main
tenance and success of the pubic
school system either through his
own part use of the schoo', or its
present use for his chi dren, or
through his interest in associat nG
with educated people. Therefore.
every C t!zen should make contribu~
ton of some sort to the schools
The following figures give an ap
proX mate idea of what this cOntr--
button should be.
From the 1920 census of the Unit.
ed States Government the citizens
of Delaware over 21 years of age
number 1876, ,521. The total s,ate con-
tr. button for school operation and
main. .enance for the year l923-24
was $2,O13,744, or the equivalent Of
$I4.75 per capita for al citizens
over 2l. TIL small amount is re-
duced by 40 per cent. on account
of the part of the school burden
carried by the corporation taxes,
and so forth. The remainder, $75S.
the actual amount per capita, should
part of every citizen OF the State.
The obligation of a person to me
State on account of his own sduca-
I on may be figured as follc IS:
The annual expenditure
from all sources for opera
tion and maintenance of the -,,-,4nA
The The pupils provided TO
number about ......... ........ en-
Annual cost per pupil
The cost of proVtd
school building and
space for one pupil 4O yea HOO
At these rates the peRt
pupil for 8, 10 and II yeai seS,
Without interest charge, would bel
5000, $3.50, 5000, respectively, or e
we consider this amount due the
State over a period of a mans 80
working years, he should pay an
lually $40. $25, or $40
Il. Is There just G .und for OPP
position to the Filing Fee?
This opposition is unwarrante1 if
t he based upon a desire to escape
l:recr taxation II: the sTppor: CT
choo's. Thee IS 80 part If the
,nhl.c expenditure )s 50 direct an
ne rest to every person iE the State
IS the outlay on e1ucati0n. # Il di-
ect tax such as the rea! estate Tax,
he incc me tax or the filing fee is
} be levied, ana at present there
srms no alternative, Il is only far
ht every person should pay part
f the tax.
f.rart from the dss .e to escape
axatton altogether there is justice
n opposition to the Hing fee.
In the first place, the name films
ee" is incorrect. The money col
ected from these fees is usei for
ohool purposes only. The fee is
eally an income take imposed upon
hose who would otherwise be ex-
mpt under the wording Of our in
ONE tax law. However, the levy of
n equal tax on all citizens is a canl-
alton tax and, under that name
'ould be distributed by law to the
ounties and not to the State. To
void this difficulty the tax was
lisnamed filing fee." This is a reg
)rt to a some what underhand de-
Ice TO accomplish an end.
In the second place, the fling fee
esults in great injustice to some
-Npayers. If, as the law intends.
lie income tax is a graded tax bear
g with less weight upon those of
nall income it fails in some cases.
D illustrate:
The United States census report
1922 gives the average pay of
rm hands in Delaware as S40 per
onth, about $500 annual wage
farm hand paying a SO filing fee
subject to an income tax at the
tie of so cents per $1OO on his
% income. If we examine other
x rates, we find the owner of an
800 income should pay a filing
or SO and income tax IS, a total
Sl1, or 61 cents per 500. All
comes between $500 and $1,000
y a less rate. At $1,000 the tax is
cents per 500 of income, or
ly half the rate paid by the $500
IN hand.
In the case of married couples the
fairness is even greater. Taking
similar illustrations: A married
m hand with 5000 income should
filing fee for himself and also
his wife, total Sc or 81 per 500.
married person having $4,000 in
ne also pays 81 per s19O. All in
mes be+Ween these amounts nav