The state cannot tax the property held by itself for the common use.
The buildings and related properties of religious bodies and societies are not taxable.
Such educational inst.i.tutions as colleges, seminaries, and private charities are not taxed.
Cemeteries and other places where the dead are disposed of are not taxed.
County buildings, city parks, public schools, penal inst.i.tutions, fair grounds for public use and similar property is never taxed.
INSUFFICIENT TAXES
There have been times in the life of the Government, and in the building up of the states, when the funds necessary for maintenance from taxes, heavy though these have been at times, have not been sufficient to meet the essential expenditures.
This was particularly the case with our Government during the trying days of our Civil War.
States entering on great public works, for the benefit of the commonwealth, frequently cannot raise the necessary money by the usual forms of taxation.
In these cases loans have to be made, that is the Government and the state go out and borrow from those who have it to spare, the necessary money.
The Government, the state, and it may be the city or county, gives to the party providing the money what is known as bond or bonds, each of a fixed amount and bearing a fixed rate of interest, payable as a rule semi-annually.
PERSONAL PROPERTY
There is no form of property so easy to a.s.sess for the purpose of taxation as real estate, that is the land and the buildings, for the last selling value of this property is a matter of public record, and then the a.s.sessors, who should be men of honesty and good judgment, are generally posted as to the value of the property under consideration.
When, however, it comes to the taxation of personal property, which means any kind of property that can be detached and carried about, it is a different matter.
Just as many people, otherwise regarded as honest, do not think it a great wrong to get the better of the Custom House, so many reputable people are inclined to revolt against the tax on personal property and to conceal their actual possessions from the a.s.sessor, nor is this peculiarity confined to the poor.
Any man may be legally compelled to swear to the accuracy of his statement, and if it is found that he has knowingly sworn to a false statement, he may be brought to task for perjury.
What is known as "personal property" varies in many of the states.
Personal property generally includes, merchandise in possession; all fixtures, all furniture in home, offices, and factories; all live stock, all money on hand and in banks; other men"s notes, not transferred; all stocks and bonds and other forms of security.
TOWN TAXES
Townships or counties, if properly authorized by charter or the votes of the people, may levy special taxes for special purposes within the limits of their own jurisdictions, or they may in the same way sell bonds to carry out some work that has been decided on for the common weal.
Two or more towns, or counties, may join in the same way to carry out a project of benefit to both, provided that the burden of the undertaking be equitably a.s.sessed.
PAYMENTS
All tax bills are due and collectable on presentation, but this is never enforced.
A time is, however, fixed beyond which payment cannot be deferred.
A sufficient amount of any property may be sold at auction to satisfy a tax bill.
Of old, and still in some places, the road taxes were paid in cash, but more frequently by work on the roads, either by the individual man, or in connection with his team, each day"s work of one or both being fixed at a regular rate.
TAXING CORPORATIONS
The state does not tax the individual members of a corporation for property held in common. The same result is secured better by taxing the corporation as a body. This applies to banks, railroads, and incorporated manufacturing establishments.
Savings banks are taxed lightly. Every depositor is liable for a personal property tax proportioned to the amount of his credit.
To make collection easy the savings bank always pays the amount of this tax in bulk, and then charges it to the expense account of the establishment, so that indirectly the depositors pay after all, as their dividends are reduced by just the amount of the tax.
TAXES IN GENERAL
When a man owns property in different towns, counties, or states, he is regarded as so many individuals, and must pay each as the local demands require. No matter where a man"s personal property is placed, the rule is to tax him for the whole at the place of his usual residence.
The landlord and the merchant each pays a direct tax to the collector, but it would be a business error to think that in so doing either or both is carrying more than his share of the total taxation.
The landlord keeps in mind the added expense when he comes to adjust leases with his tenants. The merchant, who pays taxes on his stock and so adds to his expense account, should not be blamed if he keeps this in mind when he fixes the selling prices of his goods.
THE RETURNS
Taxes duly paid, honestly collected, and properly expended should never be regarded as a burden.
From no equal expenditure of money do the people get so much good.
The public schools, the public highways, the protection of life and property, public hospitals, public libraries, residences for the old, the blind, the orphaned and the insane, as well as secure places for the lawless, are built and maintained by the taxpayer.
As a rule all these things are done honestly and well, notwithstanding the outcry to the contrary.
If there be dishonesty in places, it is the fault quite as much of the voter who selected him as of the official culprit himself.
We must take all the responsibility of our agents, whether they be public or private.
Every good citizen should feel that his public duty is an important private business.
CHAPTER XVIII
CONTRACTS, LEASES, AND GUARANTEES
The law books define a contract to be "An agreement between two or more persons to do or not to do a certain stated thing or things, for a consideration."
The consideration is a vital part of every contract.
There can be no binding contract without a consideration.