maintenance of an army as large or larger than the states proportion of
the continental levies, an almost constant militia service which, though
nominally paid for, must have been a severe burden and interfered
seriously with industry. Again, in any attempt to estimate the burden of
taxation during the Revolution, we must take into consideration not only
the impositions above mentioned, which partake more or less of the
character of taxation itself, but also the general condition of the
colony. The British held possession of the island towns from December,
1776, to October, 1779. These towns were in great part deserted by the
sympathizers with the American cause, who, having lost almost all their
property, became a burden upon the rest of the state. All the towns
situated upon the sea coast or upon the shore of the bay were subject to
the incursions of the enemy and were kept in a constant state of alarm,
while on one occasion at least arrangements were made for the evacuation
of Providence. Commerce was practically destroyed and economic life
apparently to a great extent disorganized, giving rise to wide spread
suffering from poverty.
If we assume the population of the taxable portion of the state for the
years 1777-8-9, to be 46,000, the per capita rate of taxation for the
period was about $2.71 per annum, and the rate for the years 1780-1-2,
on the basis of the population in 1782, was $2.80. The highest rate
during the period was in 1780, when it reached $4.08. With the close of
the war taxation diminished. In 1783-4-5, it was about $1.35 per capita,
and after the issue of paper money in 1786, it gradually sank until in
1789, it amounted to only about 9 cents.
Estimating the rateable property in this state, exclusive of the towns
in possession of the British, at $10,165,048, the rate of taxation for
the three years 1777-1779, would have been 1.22 per cent per annum.
On a ratable basis if $10,903,312, the rate in the years 1780-82, was
1.34 per cent, the highest rate during the period was 1.96 per cent in
1780. On the basis of the valuation computed in 1783, the rate for the
years 1783-1785, was only .6 per cent and had fallen to .05 per cent in
1789.
When we remember that this taxation was for both state and continental
purposes, it does not seem excessive, judged by the figures of today.
Taking into consideration however the general and special economic
conditions of the period, it is safe to say that it was a heavy
burden.[110] Any comparison with recent times must necessarily be
unsatisfactory, for finance was an art but little developed in the
United States one hundred years ago, and the burdens of the Revolution
were felt much more in the shape of a constantly depreciating currency,
forced seizures of property, service without recompense, unpaid debts,
and general economic disturbance, than in excessive taxation.
The law of taxation since 1710.
The history of the law of taxation shows us no change of principle but
only a further development of detail where experience had shown[111]
existing provisions inadequate. Additional measures against foreign
traders were passed. In 1738 each town was directed to choose "three
discreet and prudent Persons" to assess such foreign traders according
to their trade. In case of non-payment the delinquent might be
distrained upon or in case there was not sufficient visible property he
might be committed to jail.[112]
Considerable progress was made in developing the law of assessment. In
1744 when taxation was resumed, a law was passed which declared in
detail the various kinds of rateable property and the values at which
they were to be assessed. It is of so much value, both as affording a
comparison with the like enactments of the earlier period and as giving
an example of the acts in accordance with which colony valuations were
taken, that it seems best to print it in full.[113]
"An Act ascertaining what Estate is Rateable, and for proportioning the
same in Value.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of this Colony, and by the
Authority thereof, it is Enacted, That the following Estates shall be
deemed Rateable in all Publick Colony Rates and Taxes, therein made and
levied, and shall be included and considered in the Proportioning the
same, and that in the following Manner, and according to the Specifick
Value they are hereafter fixed at, viz:
All Neat Cattle of Four Years old and upwards, shall be valued at Ten
Pounds per Head.
All Neat Cattle from Two Years old to Four Years old, shall be valued at
Five Pounds per Head; and Neat Cattle that are under Two Years old, are
not to be considered.
All Horse Kind to be rated in the like Manner, as to their Age and
Value.
All Sheep and Goats of One Year old and upwards, shall be valued at
Fifteen Shillings per Head; and if younger, not to be valued.
All Swine of One Year old and upwards, shall be valued at Thirty
Shillings per Head; but not to be considered before.
All Slaves for Life, that are between Sixteen and Fifty Years of Age,
shall be set at the Price of Eighty Pounds; those under Sixteen, or
above Fifty, not to be rated.
All deck'd Vessels that are in Port, shall be set at Five Pounds per
Ton; and those not deck'd, at Three Pounds per Ton.
All Trading Stock shall be set at Half the real Value thereof; to which
is to be added, what Estate every Man hath, either in Money, Bonds, or
other Estate that lies concealed, to be considered as other personal
Estate, which the Rate makers shall have Power to require, and take an
Account of as visible Estate.
All Lands, Houses, Mills, Wharffs and other real Estates, shall be
valued at the Rate of Ten Years, and so considered in the Assessment.
All Males from Sixteen Years old and upwards, shall be stated at One
Shilling per Head, for every Thousand Pound Rate assessed by the Colony;
and in Proportion for a greater or lesser Sum: In which Assessment upon
Poles, shall be included all Servants for Years, of the Age aforesaid.
And be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the Assessors in all
and every Rate, levied as aforesaid, shall consider all Persons who make
Profit by their Faculties, and shall rate them accordingly."[114]
In 1747 the poll tax was reduced to nine pence per one thousand pounds
of tax levied. As a matter of fact the usual amount of the poll tax, as
determined in the various acts ordering the assessment of taxes, was six
pence per one thousand pounds.[115]
The digest of 1767,[116] defines somewhat more minutely than before the
procedure to be followed by assessors. They were directed to make
separate lists, first of the estates, the valuations of which had been
handed in by the owners, second of the estates estimated by the
assessors, and third of the number of polls.
The amount to be raised on polls was then to be deducted from the total
tax and the remainder was to be apportioned among the rateable estates.
Even in the case of those who made return of this property, the power of
making the final estimate remained with the assessors, subject to an
appeal to the next general sessions of the peace for the county. If it
appeared that a true list had been handed in the tax payer might recover
from the town treasury. The appeal was not to interfere with the process
of collection. By act of 1769 all lands or other real estate granted or
purchased for religious uses or for[117] schools were exempted from
taxation.
It would appear that in the case of leased estates taxes had been
assessed on the owner. This had rendered collection difficult, and in
1784 it was provided that in the future the tax should be assessed on
the occupant who was to be liable in his real and personal property. If
this was not sufficient the real estate occupied was liable.
By the same act assessors were required to distinguish between real and
personal estate, and assign a separate column to each in their rate
lists.[118]
The law in regard to collection also underwent considerable development.
It was about the middle of the century that collectors began to be
regularly elected as town officers.[119] A law of February 1755 provided
that if a person rated in one town removed to another town without
paying his rate, the collector of the town where he was rated might
follow him and collect the tax.[120] The difficulty of collecting taxes
on the lands of non-residents led to laws which provided that the land
itself might be sold for taxes.[121] The general treasurer was first
given the power to call special courts for the prosecution of delinquent
collectors,[122] and later was authorized to bring actions directly
against the town treasurer[123], who in return might recover from
delinquent collectors and their bondsmen. In 1781 the real estate of
collectors and their sureties was declared liable for the satisfaction
of all judgements secured against them.[124] Warrants for collection
were declared to be in force until the tax was collected.[125].
Collectors were empowered to call before them any one who they had
reason to believe possessed property of any person who had been rated,
but who had left the colony, and compel him to pay the tax of the absent
person. In case the person summoned failed to appear and make
declaration, he himself was liable to distraint for the amount of the
tax.[126] Personal property seized by distraint might be removed, for
sale, to any part of the colony.[127]
There were several other general laws of less importance[128] and,
besides these, there were certain provisions which were re-enacted with
each tax assessment. In this way the towns were required to pay all
charges and fees for collection. Interest was charged against the towns
in arrears. It was generally provided also that the towns might appoint
new assessors for the assessment of each colonial tax, and, in some
cases at least, it was customary.
Colonial and State Valuations.
The law of taxation as it appears in general acts has to do principally
with questions of administration. What we might call the principle of
the tax system was not as a rule embodied in the general law. It was the
growth of custom and its existence was assumed in legislative acts. That
the state might apportion the taxes among the towns with some degree of
justice, it was necessary, however, that it should obtain information in
regard to the value of the property existing within its borders. Thus,
from time to time, general estimates were taken, and in the acts
ordering these estimates we find a more detailed statement of the
methods and principles to be followed, together with certain departures
from the usual custom which reflect the various phases of economic life
in the period to which they refer.
Just what was the basis of apportionment among the towns when taxation
was resumed in 1744, we do not know. By act of June 1747 the assessors
in each town were required to take an exact account of the rateable
estate of all inhabitants on the basis of the act of 1744, and made
returns to the next session of the assembly, for use in the
apportionment of taxes. A similar valuation was ordered in 1754, and
again in 1757. Return was generally made, but they showed only the total
valuation of each town as estimated by the assessors, and the assembly
made use of no means of verification or revision. Protests against
apportionment were frequent. In June 1761 another act was passed for
marking a general valuation of the colony. The assessors of each town
with two other persons appointed by the assembly did the work. Detailed
rules were laid down for their guidance. They were to take account of
all "Male Polls of Sixteen years old and upwards, distinguishing such as
are exempt from Rates, and of all Rateable Estates lying within said
Towns, by whom occupied, and what each Person's Real Estate may rent for
by the year, particularly mentioning Land," and the various kinds of
structures thereon. The estimate was also to distinguish all negro,
Indian, or mulatto servants for life from fourteen to forty-five years
of age, the number of tons of vessels upwards of ten tons burthen, each
person's whole stock in trade including vessels under ten tons, all
goods, merchandize, and money owned by any person or in his hands by
"factorage," all wrought plate and money at interest "which any person
hath, more than he pays interest for," and all horses and other cattle.
The committees were ordered to distinguish the various "Improvements of
Land", and to specify in their lists the number of acres of pasture,
tillage, orchards, salt marsh, and sedge, fresh meadows, and English
mowing land respectively, also the stock each pasture was ordinarily
capable of feeding, and what quantity of produce the land yielded on the
average. Persons handing in lists of their estates might on oath declare
the amount of debts which they owed and deduct the same from their
personal estates. The person in possession of an estate was obliged to
give an account of the same, and when no one was in possession the
committee was to estimate.
The committees were empowered to administer oaths, and if any inhabitant
refused to hand in an account of his estate, he was to be "doomed" by
the committee and forfeit £30. A committee was appointed to receive the
reports of the various town committees, to compare and revise them and
thus make a general estimate.
In February, 1762, this committee reported such an estimate. It was
adopted by the assembly and declared to be the basis of future
apportionments among the towns. The report contained the following
estimates: acres of woodland 247,685; value of woodland £4,613,778;
amount of live stock £2,835,007; money and trading stock £8,455,428;
rents £1,458,748; polls 8,285. On the basis of these estimates the
committee reported the following standard for apportionment:
One third part of the woodland £1,537,926-0-0
Total amount of live stock and negroes 2,835,007-0-0
One half the amount of trading stock 4,227,514-0-0
Total amount of rents at twelve years purchase 17,504,976-0-0
----------------
26,105,423.[129]
A protest on the part of the country towns signed by twenty members was
immediately presented. The grounds of complaint were that the committee
had reduced trading stock one half when the act for taking the estimate
had already "provided for large deductions," and secondly that twelve
years purchase was too high an estimate for land values. Although the
estimate of 1762 had been accepted as the legal basis of apportionment,
departures were made from it which gave use to more or less weighty
protests. In the case of the tax assessed in October, 1765, there was a
protest signed by fifteen members which declared the estimate of 1762 to
be the only legal rule of apportionment, and that the present departure
from it was "altogether arbitrary, unequal and oppressive to particular
towns, nor founded on any real knowledge of the circumstances of the
people taxes." Providence, Scituate and Cumberland refused to pay the
tax. Another protest by the representatives of the same towns was made
against the apportionment of the tax in the succeeding year, when the
apportionment was declared to be "a high act of arbitrary power and
despotism and an exercise of such authority as is utterly inconsistent
with a British Constitution." The assembly proceeded against the towns
and recovered judgment, but did not venture to put it into execution and
finally agreed that the refractory towns should pay their portion of the
last two taxes on the basis of the estimate of 1762. The result of this
dispute was the general estimate of 1769. The act for taking the
estimate was passed in June, 1767. A committee of five (one from each
county) were directed to proceed into each town and make the valuations.
The principles laid down for the guidance of the committee were much the
same as those employed in 1762. Trading stock however was to be
estimated at its full value, except vessels at sea and their cargoes
which were to be estimated at two thirds of their real value. Negro and
other slaves and improved lands were to be estimated at their full
value, the value of the lands to be reckoned at twenty years rental.
Houses and buildings of all kinds, including those used for
manufacturing purposes, were to be estimated at fifteen years rental,
horses and other farming stock at full value. Debts might be deducted
from the personal estate if the "Committee shall think the same best".
The committee were given power to examine on oath and to send for papers
and records. If any person refused to testify or give an account of his
estate, he was to be taxed two fold in the next colony rate. No colony
tax was to be levied until the valuation was made and approved, when it
was to be the standard for the apportionment of taxes until a new
estimate was taken. A protest was entered signed by eight members
asserting that twenty years purchase was an over valuation of land,
while fifteen years purchase was no higher than, if indeed it was so
high as, the real value of houses and buildings, and that unimproved
land as it yielded no profit, should not be taxed. Land holders, it was
claimed, would bear a much larger share of the public burdens than in
justice they ought in proportion to the merchants and traders.
The report of the committee as at first presented was subjected to
careful re-examination and correction. The final result was reported and
accepted in February, 1769, and the estimate was declared to be "the Law
and Rule for future Taxation." The estimate as adopted contained the
following items:
Acres of woodland 241,685-3/4
Value of woodland £236,946-5-6
Rent at 20 and 15 years 1,356,830-16
Sum total of ratables of each town 517,578-9-1
-------------
Total 2,111,356-0-7
Polls 8,952.
Protests against apportionments under the estimate were few. From
October, 1774, to March, 1777, no tax was levied. When it was found
necessary to resume taxation a committee was appointed to consider the
changes which had occurred in each town since 1769, and agree upon a new
basis of apportionment. The committee completed its work in one day, and
made a report containing an estimate which was accepted as a temporary
standard. The total valuation of the new estimate was only a few pounds
greater than that of eight years before. The island towns, then in
possession of the enemy, were relieved at the expense of the main land,
the most important change being the removal of £100,000 from the
valuation of Newport and the placing of it on Providence, increasing the
valuation of the latter town by nearly eighty per cent. Providence, in
its desire to further the resumption of taxation, accepted this large
addition, but only on condition that it should not become a precedent.
The General Assembly however showed no desire to take a new estimate and
continued to apportion taxes in accordance with the estimate of March,
1777.
Providence, beginning to feel the burdens of the war in the stoppage of
its commerce and the demands of military service, protested and refused
to pay its tax as it had done ten years before. The assembly reduced the
valuation of Providence first by £25,000, then by £50,000, and in
October, 1778, passed an act for taking a new estimate. As in 1769, a
committee of five was appointed and was directed to proceed into each
town and take account of ratable estates and all male polls of
twenty-one years and upwards, except ministers of the gospel and
officers and soldiers in the army and naval service. The principles on
which the estimate was to be taken varied but little from those laid
down for the estimate of 1769. All the property enumerated was to be
appraised at its full value, "whether the said rateable Property be
removed without the limits of the state of not." The committee as before
were empowered, if they thought best, to deduct debts from personal
estate. No report was made until July, 1780. The committee had visited
each town "and with great care, and as much precision as possible, have
endeavored to obtain an exact account of the real value of this state."
The report was accepted and the estimate declared to be the legal basis
of apportionment. The total valuation was £2,778,145-10-0. In September
several towns complained that the estimate was erroneous, and a
committee was appointed to revise it. This committee reported in
November having increased the total valuation about £10,000, and made
considerable alterations in the relative portions of the towns. This
report was submitted to still another revision, the final report however
being presented at the same session. The total remained unchanged and
the changes made in proportions assigned to the towns were, for the most
part, not important. This last report gives merely the total valuations
of the towns, but the earlier report of the November session comprises
the following headings:
Number of acres 518,112-3/4
Price per acre £2-5s. to £70-10s-6d.
Value of real estate 2,788,145-10s.
In none of these estimates were the island towns included. A valuation
of these towns, in accordance with the act of 1778, was ordered in June,
1783, and completed in October of the same year. It showed a total of
£502,227-5-0 which, added to the valuation of the mainland towns in
1780, gave a total valuation for the state of £3,290,372-15-0. This was
the last general estimate made before the adoption of the constitution
of the United States.
The first point which we notice in these valuations is the prominent
part played by the poll tax. On the basis of the estimate of 1762, and a
poll tax of six pence per one thousand pounds, the poll tax supplied
20.7 per cent of all receipts from taxes. In 1769, the proportion was
22.2 per cent. This proportion increased of course with the growth of
population, and by 1774, must have amounted to 24 per cent, but the
diminution of the taxable population during the war brought it down
again to 22 per cent in 1780. As to the proportions in which personal
and real estate entered into the valuation, personal estate formed about
one third of the total in 1762, and about one fourth in 1769, while,
owing to the destruction of personal property during the war, it had
sunk to about one-eighth in 1780. In all these estimates there is a
tendency to favor personalty, as represented in the growing commercial
interests, at the expense of the proprietors of land. In 1762, money and
trading stock was valued at only one half of its true value, and in
1769, land was valued at twenty years rental which must certainly have
been a high valuation.
A comparison of the proportions in which the various towns contributed
to the various taxes is instructive. The figures following refer to the
estimate of 1769. The whole number of towns was twenty-eight. Eleven
towns paid a larger proportion of the total property tax than of the
total poll tax, showing they contained more than their proportionate
share of wealth. As a whole they comprised the territory which borders
on Narragansett Bay, and which had been long settled. Together they
contained 40.32 per cent of the rateable polls, and 56.10 per cent of
the property in the colony. The most important towns among them were
Newport, which contained 12.44 per cent of the polls, and 15.6 per cent
of the property; Providence which contained 5.06 per cent of the polls
and 5.94 per cent of the property, and South Kingstown which contained
4.78 per cent of the polls and 9.3 per cent of the property. As a rule
these were also the towns which contained the largest proportions of
personal property.
Of the property valued in Newport 47.4 per cent was personal, in
Providence 51 per cent. Newport contained 30 per cent of all the
personal property in the colony, Providence 12.4 per cent (i.e. the two
commercial towns with 17.5 per cent of the polls contained 42.4 per cent
of the personal property) and South Kingstown 6.2 per cent. Eleven towns
out of the twenty-eight contained 77 per cent of the personalty. These
same towns contained 49.5 per cent of the polls.