Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1873-09-12
For the journal.
The Limits Of Taxation.

I ting the minds of our people, / will
offer no apology for submitting few
remarks directed to the question o
/ the powers of the County Commission
7 ers with reference to taxation.
The last section of the Declaration
of Rights embodied in the State Con
stitutiOn reads as follows
! Section 81. This enumeration OF
rights shall not be construed to impair
or deny others retained by the people,
, and all powers not herein delegated
remain with the people.
This section is one of vital impor
tance, for it furnishes us with the rule
, for interpreting the Constitution. Al
powers claimed by any officer created
by that Constitution must be derived
from the Constitution either by express
grant or necessary implication.
The Commissioners of New Hanover
county, according to their own showing
are now engaged in collecting a tax
which, with the State tax, amounts to
81 % on the poll, and 81 cents on the
800 valuation of property. Have
they authority to do SO? If they have,
from what article and section of the
Constitution is it derived? D.? Article 5,
of the Constitution headed "Revenue
and Taxation" section 1, reads as fol-
lows: "The General Assembly shall
levy capitation tax on every n.ale in
habltant of the State over twenty -one
and under fifty years of age, which
shall be equal Oh each to the tax Oh
property valued at three hundred
dollars in cash. The Commissioners
OF the several counties may exempt
from capitatiOn tax in special cases on
account of poverty and infirmity, and
the State and county capitatiOn tax
combined shall never exceed two dol
lars on the head"
Section of the same article pro-
vides rs follows '"The taxes levied by
the Commissioners of the several
counties for county purposes shall be
levied in like manner with the State
taxes, and shall never exceed the
double of the State tax, except for spe-
cial purposes, and with the special
approval of the General Assembly.
In these two sections we find the
power of taxation delegated by the
people and guarded by restrictions. The
entire poll tax ''shall never exceed 50
on the head, and shall be equal to the
tax on property valued ut three hun
dred dollars. 1t follows then that six
| ty-siX and twO-thirds cents Oh the 500
vain ,tion is the limit of taxation on
property. These limits cannot be trans
cended by the County Commissioners.
The Constitution limits their power in
| the most clear and unqualified Ian
| gnage. Any authority purporting to
| come from the General Assembly, and
authorizing the County commissioners
to exceed these limits, is also void, for
| the power of the General Assembly it
self over taxation is restricted by the
! Constitution within these limits It is
| true that for special purpose the
| Genoral Assembly may authorize the
| County Commissioners to exceed the
| limit of "double the State tax" in levy
ing county taxes but this power can
only be exercised suhject to the re-
strictions imposed by section l.
| The argument from Inconvenience is
resorted to for the purpose of Justify
| ing transgression of the limits fixed
| by the Constitution. It is said that it
| would be impossible to carry on the
| county government by taxes levied
| within these limits. 1t is said that the
| State tax amounts to fifty and one
| third cents on the 800 valuation of
property, and this leaves q margin of
| only sixteen and one third cents on the
800 for county purposes, if tho whole
| tax is to he restricted to sixty-six and
two-third cents. This argument may
prove that the General Assembly oc-
| cupied too large aportion of the ground
| allowed by the Constitution, leaving
too narrow a margin to be occupied by
| the County Commissioners or it may
| prove that the County Commissioners
should use the greatest economy il the
| ~ AZ
may prove that the Constitution re-
quires amendment; but it certainly
does not prove that the County Com
| missloners can, upon mere argument,
| ab itcon"caic,.ti run rough -shod over
| a plain provision of the organic law.
| Honesty in the expenditure of public
funds is sometimes found extremely
incOnvenient, and economy is always
80 ; and If we are to yield to arguments
| derived from Inconvenience, we would
| as well give up our constitutional
| rights and yield ourselves to the tender
| mercles of our public officials
But further, it is asserted that the
| county of New Hanover owes debt
| contracted previous to the adoption Of
the existing State Constitution, and
| that the restrictions i'll that instrument
|
the payment of such dcbt-that if the
| State Constitution is allowed to step in
| and debar the comfy creditor of his
remedy, it would impair the obligation
| of contract and thus violate the
Constitution of the United States, and
| therefore that such construction
must he given to the State Constitu-
| ton as will reconcile its provisions
| wit Ia tho rnnrIira,nnnfS nf tba cnrra,pa
law.
On this point l will observe that the
| homestead provision of the COnstltu-
ton is a pOsitire interference with the
creditors remedy, yet that is held by
our Supreme Court to be law In the
case under consideration the most that
can be urgedIis that there is II ,,eyati"e
interference with the creditors s rem
edy by omitting to provide in the
Constitution method of levying taxes
in this case the limits of taxation laid
down in the Constitution may he
transcended is equivalent to the addi-
ton of supplemental clause for the
purpose of providing for the supposed
cnsus Ouaiss,ts. The Commissioners OF
New Hanover are now attempting to
do this. 1t remains to be seen if this
usurpation of power will be sustained
py the courts.
There is but one source of power
adequate to such an occasion-the
people. Ii the limits of taxation nj
lowed by the Constitution he too mar.
row let the appeal he made to the
people to extend them. There can be
! no more argument against n bad law
| II
|, course fixes public attention upon il
aud procures its speedy amendment
; or repeal.
But the obligation of the contract i,
not impaired by aihe,ing strictly t.
the Constitutional limits of taxa
, ton. The debt still remains
Only the remedy is impaired
Laws having this effect nre Otter
+ enacted and enforced by the courts,
Formerly the laws If different State
allowed imprisonment for debt. Thi