Mortgage Taxation in Wisconsin

Abstract

The taxation of mortgages condemned by most economists, 1–3; but retained on the statute books of most States, 3–4; the experience of Wisconsin throws light upon this conflict of authority and practise, 4–12; and indicates that taxation of mortgages under the general property tax will prove innocuous in some places, 12–15; but harmful in others, 16; the conditions under which shifting will probably occur, 17–20; leading to the conclusion that mortgage taxation should be limited in rate, if imposed at all, 21; and is generally inexpedient not because the tax is necessarily shifted, 22, 23; but because it is part of a vicious system of personal taxation, 25–27.