Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-03-08
The Wagon Tax.

! EDITORS CHRONICLE: Much has been
written and some things have been said that
! has put the people of GAINESVILLE in a mud
| die about the water-worlks, but, siTs, this is
| nothing compared to what a little notice
! from the County Court Clerk, and a few edi-
! torials from the law editor of the Leaf, has
created in the country with regard to the
tax on wagons. Hoping that this state of
| things may be settled to some extent, and
that the people may know what the law
says, have concluded to call attention to
the law relating to said tax and my views
on said law.
Acts of the Legislature passed March l3,
1868, chapter 79, section 8:
| "AII persons engaged inrthe following pur-
suits shall obtain an annual license from
| the County Court Clerk and pay the taxes
herein provided. p"
In the fifth paragraph of said section it
says:
each express wagon or cart, including
wagons or carts engaged in transferring
other than those belonging to express or
omnibus companies. shall take out a license
annually, from the County Court Clerk and
shall pay tax for each express wagon of
five dollars; each express cart, five dollars ::
each transfer wagon, two-horSe, ten dollars !;
each transfer wagon, four-hOrse, fifteen dol
lars"
Act of February 10, 1869:
sec. L. mat an ACT 10 amend the revenue
laws of this State. passed on the 18th of
March, 1868, shall not be so construed as To
compel persons to pay tax on farm wagons,
or such wagons as are used prOmiScuOuslY as
farm wagons, and no such wagons shall be
known as transfer wagons, as demonstrated
| in said act.
Act of March lst. 1869:
Sec. 3. That so much of the act of March
18th, 1868, as refers to express wagons trans
fer wagons and carts. shall not be so con-
strued as to include vehicles other than
wagons and carts regularly in the business
of eXpressage and transfer.
Act OF March 26th, 1877:
Sec. /. That the act of 1867 and 1858, chap
ter -, section 5, be so amended that the
owner oil every omnibus, carriage or vehicle,
hack, wagon or cart. of a description now
liable to privilege tax, shall be liable to such
tax upon every such omnibus, carriage, We
hicle, hack, wagon or cart run for pay, with
in the limits OF this State, without regard to
the residence OF the owner or the place
where it is kept. That this tax shall be a
lien upon the vehicle and other means Of
conveyance mentioned in the regOin2 sec
ton, and the same shall be subject to seizure
and sale whether so run by the owner or any
other person as hirer from the owner or as
agent.
From the foregoing there seems TO me to
be no difficulty whatever, as neither of
these acts repeal the other. The act of
March Is. 1865, declares that transfer wagons
are taxable and fixes the rate of tax on two
and four-horse wagons. The act of February
18th, 1869, says that wagons used promiscu-
eusly as farm wagons are not taxable, and
the act of March LIST, 1869, settles what wag-
ons are taxable by saying, ''None shall be
taxed other than those regularly in the bus
iness of expressage and trar.sfer." And the
act OF March Goth, 1877, relates TO wagons run
in this State for pay as regular transfer wag-
ons, and the owners living beyond the lin
its of the State; therefore the lien on the
wagon TO satisfy said tax. Up.