The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1933-02-20
THE DEVIL FOR THE WITCH

If it becomes imperative that the legislature in
woke the sales tax in order to produce sufficient
revenues for the maintenance of the government,
the farmers of North Carolina who raised such an
cutlery against the property tax that the Demo-
cratic party promised them to take it off, will like
ly find that they have snapped the devil for the
witch.
A sales tax, as contrasted with farm property
tax, will not prove beneficial to agriculture a
relief to the farming classes It might accrue to
their advantage it not for the fact that North
Carolina farmers are such inordnate buyers, but
so long as their purchases constitute large a
percentage of the total merchandising done in this
state the sales tax will bring no comparative bene
fit to them.
The party in power doubtless wishes to its lucky
stars that it had committed itself to the
moval of the 15-cent property tax. That levy was
not producing such mountainous amount of rive
nue., but it was bringing in enough to have fore
stalled the necessity of levyng sales tax if it had
remained, and, then, too, it is being discovered
this late date that, so far the agricultural pOpu
lation is concerned, removal of this tax on farm
lands and substitution of sales tax is going to be
far more provocative with them than had the status
quo remained.
Freely admitting the desirability of relief in the
field of property taxes, it is, nevertheless, fact
that in proportion with other states, the property
tax burden in North Carolina is not only contisca-
tory, as its opponents have claimed, but property
in this state pays lower ratio of the total cost
of government than property pays in any other
state with the possible exception of Delaware.
The total tax bill in North Carolina in 1911 was
about 96 million dollars from all sources and for
all governments, state, cities, towns, counties and
districts of all descriptions Property paid less than
4S million of this amount In other words, prop
erty paid about so per cent of the total load but
property land and real estate represents about 70
per cent of all taxables. The real estate tax there
FORE in North Carolina is about 81 million dollars.
In many states property pays between 70 and
IS per cent of the total bill.
Our thinking along this line has allowed another
miSconceptOn to creep in as regards the amount
of taxes farm property pays contrasted with all
other forms of real estate.
| In 10000 when the property tax bill was at its
height, reaching 60 Million property listed within
the bounds of Incorporated towns and cities paid
! nearly 40 millions of the 63, while manufacturing
properties outside of cities and towns paid five mil
lions, so that agricultural, timber railroads and
power companies owning farming lands paid only
! 10 millions.
With the property tax reductions as effectuated
by the 1881 general assembly figured in the equa-
ton, it begins to look if farm properties during
the past year paid only Is million of the total BILL
| or IS per cent of all taxes paid in the state.
If, therefore, the farmers of the state are now
paying the basis of their property holdings only
13 million dollars it is obvious that, from the vol
ume of goods and commodities they customarily
! buy, a sales tax would extract from them far
greater amount in the way of annual toll than they
are now being compelled to pay under the pre-
vailing rate upon property-Charlotte Observer.
Yet once in while, even now, you find girl
uhn tells her narents where she IS gnnp