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I have a long list of these. Whenever we
grant a special break to one tax group,
the other taxpayers must pick up the slack.
In this case, it acts in two ways: It pre-
fers farmers over the homeowners in your
own county. It has another effect which is
in the distribution of the money under the
equalization program. Those areas which
are under-assessed get more money from
the State under the equalization program
which means that the other taxpayers
must pick up the slack. This can only mean
that urban areas such as Baltimore City
must pay more in the way of taxes.
TPIE CHAIRMAN: You have one-quar-
ter minute, Delegate Macdonald.
DELEGATE MACDONALD: I am not
opposed to the farm assessment program or
the farm assessment law but I do believe it
should be left up to the General Assembly.
I think the proposal made by the Committee
here is opposed to the one-man one-vote
principle. I think it would be very bad to
mandate it in the constitution and I am in
favor of the amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any delegate
desire to speak in opposition to the amend-
ment?
Delegate Sherbow.
DELEGATE SHERBOW: Mr. Chair-
man, ladies and gentlemen, I would plead
with this Convention, this Committee, to be
practical. If ever there was a time to be
practical, this is it. You must bear in mind
that in the State of Maryland, there is a
group of farmers tilling- the soil, many of
them in a marginal way, without hope of
any form of tremendous gain, who want to
be left alone to do the work that they are
doing. There are others who are waiting-
just as everybody else is for the day when
lightning may strike and they may make
more money.
But you must bear this in mind. That
this group of farmers, and they are many
throughout this State, asked the legislature
to pass a law which would save them from
having to get rid of their properties and
dump them on the market into the laps of
these speculators at prices below what they
were worth because they could not pay the
taxes that were involved because of the
fact that they were in areas where taxes
and assessments were increasing.
Then after the litigation and they found
themselves with a law that was invalid,
they had a constitutional amendment pre-
pared, went to the legislature, seven years
ago the people spoke on this issue and by
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an overwhelming majority they said this is
a form of classification that is proper.
What is the next thing that has hap-
pened? Only this: At all the hearings be-
fore our Committee, I must tell you that
for once I felt that the lack of interest in
the constitution and the Constitutional Con-
vention was belied because this was one
time when the farmers came and with one
voice they said we have this in the Consti-
tution, we are entitled to it, do not make it
impossible for us to till our farms and to
operate them because you want to get at
the land speculators.
THE CHAIRMAN: You have one-quar-
ter minute, Delegate Sherbow.
DELEGATE SHERBOW: The way to
get to the land speculators is by proper en-
actment of the General Assembly. By
proper administration of the State Tax
Commission. It is the way to reach that
problem.
But I urge you to be practical and do
not let all of these farmers and farming
organizations feel that the law that has
been approved so overwhelmingly and put
in the Constitution has now been taken out.
I urg-e you to vote against this amendment
and support the Committee's position.
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair recognizes
Delegate Hanson.
Do you yield to a question of Delegate
Adkins?
DELEGATE HANSON: Yes, Mr. Chair-
man.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate .Adkins.
DELEGATE ADKINS: I should like to
ask Delegate Hanson if he believes in fact
that all farm land exemptions should be
eliminated as a matter of law?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hanson.
DELEGATE HANSON: No.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Adkins.
DELEGATE ADKINS: In view of the
income discrepancies that you cited in your
statement, how, then, can you justify any
continuation of any farm land exemption?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hanson.
DELEGATE HANSON: It is damned
hard !
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Adkins.
DELEGATE ADKINS: Is it not fair to
say, then, you are advocating- a continu-
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