Why We Need 



Tax Limitation 



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By / 



John C. Watson 



ILLINOIS farmers, who comprise 

 about one-seventh to one- 

 eighth of the population of the 

 <tate. operate property having 

 nearly one-fourth of all assessed 

 valuations. P)Ut 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 proi)erty 

 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 

 .stock.s. 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 I'nion, prt)^ 

 vided for a taxing system e.ssen- 

 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 from what 

 it was more than 100 years ago. 

 Thus as civilization developed and 

 population increa.sed, demand for 

 better roads, more expensive edu- 

 cational facilities, bigger public 

 buildings, libraries, police and fire 



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protection, control of criminals, 

 and higher salaries for public ofii- 

 cials all have combined to increase 

 the property tax bill at a terrific 

 rate as ilu.strated in the chart on 

 this page. 



Thus while population between 

 1900 and 1927 was making a mod- 

 est inci-ease of around 75 per cent, 

 the combined state, county, and lo- 

 cal levies on jiroperty 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 llu- 

 reaus, and similar groups of real 

 property owners. 



While farm and home, owm-r- 

 have received rather substantial 

 relief beginning in 1927 from th» 

 property tax burden, reacljing a 

 luw point in taxes paid last yea?, 

 recent improvement in itusiness 

 and agiiculture has caused tax- 

 spending lK)dies to cock an eyt 

 once more in the direction of prop- 

 erty owners, and increased l<'vic> 

 are again the order of the day in 

 many counties and communities. 



There is real danger that when 

 the depres.sion is fully routed. th<' 

 (Continued on page 20) 



JUNE. 1935 



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