The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1936-03-06
AUTO TAX SET-UP ASSAILED
Planning Commission Report Calls
Methods Crude And LaboriOus

| Methods Crude And LaboriOus
Condemnation of present methods
of administering the motor vehicle
property tax in Maryland as "labori-
ous," expensive and crude" is con-
tanned in a report made public by
the State Planning Commission,
which suggested a number of alter
nate methods.
The commission, headed by Abel
Wolman, based its report on the re-
suits of a study made by William
Paul Walker of the department of
agricultural economics of the Uni
versity of Maryland.
OF the present methods of admin
| istering the taxa process that
varies widely in the different coun-
ties and municipalities both as to
dates when payment is due and
methods of collection-the commits
sion had this to say:
THE present method of admins
tering the motor vehicle property tax
in Maryland constitutes systematic
disease of our tax structure. 1t is a
laborious, expensive, crude and OBJ
noxious attempt to bring about tax
equalization by relatively small
spreading of the tax base.
eff the fruits of such are to be
measured in terms of financial contri-
buttons made by that group in society
which would not otherwise pay a
property tax, such a system might
we'll be dispensed with, since tax
payments of that group would prob
ably no more than meet the added
expense involved in collecting the
tax"
The suggestions made by the COM
mission included:
That the present plan of county
administration of the tax be retained,
but with two alternative changes;
first, that the political units make
their fiscal years uniform for the ad-
ministering of all property taxes;
second, that motor vehicles ''be
placed in a special class for property
lax purposes (if such is constitu-
tionaD, and that the assessable date
for motor vehicles fall in the month
when applications are made for Ii
cense plates"
That the tax be administered and
collected by the State.
That the tax be abolished. Its
abolition might mean, according to
the commission, actually increased
revenues because collectors than
would be able to devote more time
10 other personal property and real
estate.
The commission took cognizance of
the difficulties in assessing such
mobile units of personal property as
automobiles. 1t also pointed out the
destructibility of the property, the
length of time required for compil
ing and printing official lists of car
owners and the present involved
process of mailing blanks and tax
bills back and forth in getting taxes
paid and blanks perforated, as fac
tors in making administration of the
tax a complex one.
The report pointed out that, in
some counties, car owner may have
his machine fifteen months before it
is taxed, while in other instances, a
man may be taxed twice for the same
automobile in the same year if he
moves from one county to another.
The latter situation arises from diff
ferences in tax-due dates.
The report cited that sudden
drop in new-car prices, under the
present system, may result in an old
car owner paying more tax than the
driver of new model. The present
system uses fiat percentage reduc-
tions for depreciation each year.
To illustrate its point that collec-
ton of the tax is expensive, the COM
mission noted that probably twenty
five per cent. of the time of assessors
and collectors is taken up, under the
present method, in handling a tax
levy that is only slightly more than
two per cent. of the entire tax
collections.