I 



// 



J E 







J E 



offer now. 

 »r yourself 

 nuch more 

 been add- 

 . Ask the 

 te Service 

 ^ new con- 



npanies 



n 



Why We Need 



'.^i.^ 



•.».'■'- ■ * . 



\: 



^^■'v^ 



John C. Wahon 



ILLINOIS farmers, who comprise 

 about one-seventh to one- 

 eighth of the population of the 

 state, operate property having 

 nearly one-fourth of all assessed 

 valuations. But the labor of farm- 

 ers and the property they operate 

 produce only about one-twentieth 

 of the net income of the entire 

 population of Illinois. 



This lower ability of farm people 

 and farm property to pay taxes 

 coupled with a similar condition 

 among home and real property 

 owners in the cities is the out- 

 standing reason why we need prop- 

 erty tax limitation definitely fixed 

 in the constitution of Illinois. 



The property tax is a relic of the 

 days when wealth and taxpaying 

 power were measured by the acres 

 and value of land, the number of 

 head of livestock, and the equip- 

 ment and other tangible property 

 each citizen owned. 



The property tax with its re- 

 quirement of uniformity in assess- 

 ing property was handed down by 

 our forefathers from the days 

 when Illinois was purely an agri- 

 cultural state, when such things as 

 stocks, bonds, notes, mortgages 

 and bank deposits, which, comprise 

 so much of our wealth today, were 

 relatively unknown. The first state 

 constitution of 1818, framed when 

 Illinois came into the Union, pro- 

 vided for a taxing system essen- 

 tially the same as we have in force 

 today. 



Although the state constitution 

 has been amended several times 

 since then, very little since 1870, 

 however, the revenue article is not 

 greatly different today frdm what 

 it was more than 100 years ago. 

 Thus as civilization developed and 

 population increased, demand for 

 better roads, more expensive edu- 

 cational facilities, bigger public 

 buildings, libraries, police and fire 



JUNE. 1935 



Tax Limitation 



• • 



Mr. Watnon, 1, A. A. director of taxation. polntH to rarve aho^rlBK how property tiimei. 



have advaaced Hln4*e liHHi 



protection, control of criminals, 

 and higher salaries for public offi- 

 cials all have combined to increase 

 the property tax bill at a terrific 

 rate as ilustrated in the chart' on 

 this page. 



Thus while population between 

 1900 and 1927 was making a mod- 

 est increase of around 75 per cent, 

 the combined st^te, county, and lo- 

 cal levies on property during the 

 same period shot upward nearly 

 800 per cent. Only within recent 

 years has there been any appreci- 

 able relief given to the property 

 owner and this has been brought 

 about only by the most persistent 

 effort of the Illinois Agricultural 



Association, County Farm Bu- 

 reaus, and similar groups of real 

 property owners. 



While' farm and home owners 

 have received rather substantial, 

 relief begimiing in 1927 from the 

 property tax burden, reaching a 

 low point in taxes paid last year, 

 recent improvement in business 

 and agriculture has caused tax- 

 spending bodies to cock an eye 

 once more in the direction of prop- 

 erty owners, and increased levje.s 

 are again the order of the day in 

 many counties and communities. 



There is real danger that when 

 the depression is fully routed, the 

 (Continued on page 20) 



M 



t '-, 



