64 STATION BULLETIN 346 



property throughout the state. Only the railroad tax is a state-shared 

 revenue, inasmuch as the state retains for its own use the taxes from 

 the property of other public service corporations. The railroad tax 

 is apportioned by the state treasurer in the following manner : 



L One-fourth apportioned among towns according to the share of 

 the capital expended in each town for buildings and right of way. 



2. The remainder apportioned to the towns according to the resi- 

 dent ownersihip of the stock. 



The savings bank tax is an excise tax on iinancial institutions of 

 one-half of one percent of the savings deposits on which they pay 

 interest, after allowing certain specified deductions. The state trea- 

 surer has full administration of the levy, collection, and distribution of 

 the tax. The revenue is distributed among the towns according to the 

 amount of taxes obtained from the deposits of the respective residents. 



The state treasurer also levies and collects a tax from building 

 and loan associations. This amounts to three-fourths of one percent 

 upon the declared maturing value of its shares and the face value of 

 its paid-up certificates, after deducting such exemptions as are al- 

 lowed to savings banks. This revenue is paid to the treasurer of the 

 city or town where the association is located. 



Taxes collected by the state upon the savings deposits and stock 

 of depositors and stockholders of banking institutions who do not re- 

 side in the state, or whose residence is unknown, or Avho reside in an 

 miincorporated place, are known as the literary fund. This amount 

 is turned over to the state department of education which administers 

 its disbursement. 



Thus, the state collects taxes from the above sources and shares 

 the receipts with towns and cities. The actual amount of such taxes 

 received from the state by towns and cities, compared with the amount 

 of property taxes collected locally and paid to the state, has been of 

 some interest to local and state tax officials. This interest is largely 

 psychological and is not because the amount of one is dependent on 

 the other. However, the comparison between the amount of taxes 

 received from the state by toAvns and cities from 1900 to 1941 is shown 

 in Figure 3. This long period is necessary in order to show the rela- 

 tive imnortance of the state direct tax in earlier years. Taxes re- 

 ceived by towns and cities from state collected taxes exceeded the 

 state direct tax from 1900 to 1919 and from 1924 to 1932. In 1919 

 the state direct tax was $800,000, and in 1920 it increased to $2,200,000 

 as a result of the general price situation and the special tax for sol- 

 diers' bonus. Furthermore, 1920 was the beginning of the period 

 during which the state direct tax consistently exceeded the million 

 dollar mark. It was discontinued in 1939 when the tax on tobacco 

 products was substituted by legislative action. 



Money received by towns and cities from state-collected taxes 

 increased from a low of $562,000 in 1900 to an all-time high of $1,627.- 

 000 m 1930. It dropped in 1918 as a result of discontinuing liquor 

 licenses, a source of revenue which had previously been shared with 

 towns and cities. Likewise, in 1919, the literary fund was withdrawn 



