ECONOMIC SURVEYS OF COUNTY HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT. 47 
were $1.30 in 1905 and $1.40 in 1910. In 1915, however, the tax 
rate had risen very materially, as the total tax averaged $1.65, in 
_ addition to which a district tax was levied in Richmond and Glades- 
ville districts of 20 and 25 cents, respectively, for road bonds, so 
that-in those two districts taxpayers were paying a total rate for 
all purposes, State, county, and district, of $1.80 and $1.90, respec- 
tively, of which the road bonds, the county roads, the district roads, 
and the district road bonds taxes:formed 55.5 and 57.8 per cent, 
respectively. It is thus evident that the good roads carried with 
them a material tax burden. Although about 65 per cent of the 
taxes are paid by the public service and mining corporations, these 
organizations were in favor of the bond issues for road improvement. 
Itseems quite probable that the highest point of taxation has, however, 
already been reached and that a shght reduction may be expected in 
the future. The 10-cent specral county road levy for 1915 was to 
apply to the payment of an excess of about $57,000 in the cost of 
the roads over and above the amount obtained from the bond issue. 
A 20-cent tax was levied for this purpose in 1914, and it is expected 
that this 1915 levy will be sufficient to retire all of the floating debts. 
Averaging the rates for all purposes over the entire county, it appears 
that while the average rate increased 25.7 per cent from 1910 to 
1915 the receipts from taxation increased 55.3 per cent, or from a 
total of about $154,600 in 1910 to a total of about $240,100 in 1915. 
The road bonds required 33.8 per cent of all the receipts for local 
purposes in 1915. 
AID GRANTED BY STATE. 
Under the Virginia law the State pays one-half of the cost of all 
State-aid roads and provides that. if the county issues bonds and 
pays more than 50 per cent of the cost it shall be entitled to receive 
an annual apportionment until the receipts from the State shall equal 
50 per cent of the cost of improvements. Wise County is, therefore, 
entitled to receive from the State one-half of the money expended 
on this work, which half amounts to $515,789. From 1910 to 1915, 
inclusive, the county received from the State $40,904. 
The State money aid is derived from an annual appropriation made . 
by the General Assembly of Virginia and apportioned among the 
various counties on the basis of taxes paid by the counties to the 
State. The automobile-license money is derived from the State 
- automobile-license fund and is apportioned among the various coun- 
ties in the same manner as the State-aid money.’ 
The funds derived from these sources may be used toward paying 
interest or retiring the bonds, for maintenance, or for construction 
oe eS Se ee ee 
* 1 An act passed in 1916 by the legislature provides for the use of the automobile funds for maintenance 
of State-aid roads. 
