214 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 256 



come tax from 1917, the first year in operation, to 1926 was about 74 per cent. 

 For the same period taxes on real estate increased 138 per cent. This latter 

 comparison is the more important if income is a fair measure of ability to pay. 



The increase in taxes on real estate is more significant when compared 

 with the increase in assessed valuation. Table 41 shows that the index of real 

 estate valuation in 1927 was 202, compared with the index of taxes on real 

 estate of 346. Taxes on real estate have also increased relatively more than 

 total expenditures. 



Increasing taxes on real estate are felt more keenly than other taxes be- 

 cause they are such a large percentage of alj taxes. However, the importance 

 of the increase is not as great as is generally supposed. The following figures 

 show the percentage relationship of taxes on real estate to total taxes and to 

 total expenditures. 



Ratio of Taxes on Real Ratio of Taxes on Real 



Estate to Total Taxes Estate to Total Expendi- 



for State and Local tures for State and 



Purposes Local Purposes 



Year (Per Cent) (Per Cent) 



1910 61.7 41.9 



1915 62.1 42.2 



1920 56.7 44.3 



1925 64.6 45.3 



1926 63.9 49.8 



It will be noted that real estate is paying about 2 per cent more of total taxes 

 and 8 per cent more of total expenditures than in 1910. However, the increase 

 of 8 per cent means a change of almost 20 per cent in the ratio of real estate 

 taxes to total expenditures. Approximately one-half of the total expenditures 

 was obtained from taxes on real estate in 1926. 



The Increase in Taxes in Agricultural Towns 



It has been pointed out that taxes have increased enormously for the state 

 as a whole. In order to determine whether this increase has been greater in 

 agricultural towns than in other towns, seven groups of five adjoining agri- 

 cultural towns were taken as samples in different parts of the state. The 

 assessed valuations and taxes levied were computed for each group at intervals 

 of five years, as shown in Table 42. 



Increases both in assessed valuation and in taxes levied have varied widely 

 for different sections. The Connecticut Valley region shows the greatest in- 

 crease both in assessed valuation and in taxes. From 1910 to 1925, valuation 

 increased 127 per cent, all property taxes 338 per cent, and all taxes on real 

 estate 325 per cent. The Middlesex section shows the least increase in assessed 

 valuation, only 10 per cent; while all property taxes increased 175 per cent, 

 and real estate taxes 253 per cent. The hill towns in the western part of the 

 state show the lowest increase in taxes of all the section considered. Taking the 

 seven groups together, property taxes increased 218 per cent, and real estate 

 taxes 245 per cent; while the total assessed valuation increased only 66 per 

 cent and real estate valuation only 82 per cent. Taxes increased much faster 

 than assessed values in every section considered. 



With one exception assessed values of land have not increased as much 

 as the assessed valuation of all property or of real estate. The Connecticut 

 Valley shows an increase in land values of 134 per cent, and the nearest ap- 



