RURAL AMERICA 



general property tax (abolished in the following states : Vir- 

 ginia, 1902; Minnesota, 1906; Oklahoma, 1907; Michigan, 

 1909; Arizona, 1911; Maine, 1913; New Mexico, 1914; North 

 Dakota, 1914; Kentucky and Maryland, 1915), which means 

 that all kinds of property are taxed on the same basis. Of 

 course there is a good deal of difference among the states 

 in the matter of appraisement. In some states property is 

 appraised at only a fraction of its real value, while in other 

 states the appraisement is higher, and in a few states all 

 property is on the duplicate at its real value. This system 

 of taxation, which has come, down from the early days, when 

 nearly all property consisted of real estate and tangible per- 

 sonal property, is now proving generally unsatisfactory owing 

 to the vast increase in intangible personal property, which 

 can be concealed, thus throwing the burden of taxation on 

 real estate and tangible personal property. 



Owing to the great amount of intangible personal property 

 in the cities, much of which escapes taxation, the farmer 

 has felt the burden of unjust taxation and made complaint 

 all over the country. The result has been that the general 

 property tax has been either abolished or modified in many 

 states. Certain kinds of property have been exempted from 

 taxation altogether, or taxed at lower rates, and in a few 

 states the laws have worked to the advantage of the farmer, 

 since some of the exemptions, as well as the property on 

 which the rates have been lowered, are found on the farm. 

 However, in the matter of taxation, a study of the situation 

 reveals the fact that the greatest benefit from new laws has 

 gone to the residents of cities, since most of them have to do 

 with personal property, which is found to a much greater 

 value in municipal centers than in the country. One real 

 benefit has come to the farmer in several states in the exemp- 

 tion of mortgages from taxation, which increases the desira- 

 bility of the mortgage from an investment standpoint and 

 reduces, at least theoretically, the rate of interest. There is 

 not a single state in the Union that has a tax law that is 

 giving general satisfaction. The great drawback to the 



