AGRICULTURAL FINANCE 



29 



Table 35. — Frequency Distribution of Farms Showing Amount and Years of 



Unpaid Taxes Outstanding per Farm, 272 Massachusetts Farms, 



March 1, 1941. 



Rented as well as owner-operated farms are considered in discussing unpaid 

 taxes, since personal property taxes are levied on them. The number of farms 

 with unpaid taxes and the amount and years unpaid are shown in Table 35. On 

 March 1, 1941, 22 percent of the farms had unpaid taxes, 18 percent were delin- 

 quent for 1940 and 4 percent for 1939 and 1940. The average amount unpaid per 

 delinquent farm was $215. 



From a study made of tax delinquency in Massachusetts'' for 1928-33, it was 

 reported that 63 percent of the area in farms in 37 towns was delinquent in 1928. 

 For 1932 this figure was 85 percent. Therefore, it appears that a farmer who pays 

 his taxes on time is an exception to the rule. This report also states that in April 

 1934, 35 percent of the area in farms was delinquent on taxes levied from 1928 

 to 1932. 



Since 1934 was one of the highest years in tax delinquency, it would not be 

 reasonable to make any comparison with figures for that year. Furthermore, 

 the delinquency figure on April 1934 does not include delinquencies for the year 

 1933 which would have made the figure much higher. However, the tax delin- 

 quency shown by the 1935 study does indicate that even in fairly normal years 

 almost two-thirds of the farmers do not pay their taxes on time. This ma> indi-, 

 cate a poor farm financial condition. However, it probably indicates simply that 

 unpaid taxes are a very convenient source of short-term credit used by a great 

 many farmers. 



The difference between approximately 65 percent and 22 percent of farms with 

 unpaid taxes may be caused largely by the difference in inventory date. Possibly 

 a large proportion of the farmers had not paid their 1940 taxes when they were 

 due but had paid them by March 1, 1941. 



Mortgage Interest and/or Principal Past Due 



Mortgage interest and/or principal is a charge which a farmer must meet or 

 else subject himself to the possibility of losing his farm through foreclosure. 

 When this charge is past due, however, a credit'has been set up; although it may 

 be more an indication of financial weakness on the part of the borrower than it 

 is a credit. 



®U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Agr. Econ., Div. Agr. Finance, "Tax Delinquency of Rural Real Estate 

 in 37 Massachusetts Towns, 1928-33," September 19, 1935. 



