The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1880-02-28
THE new REVENUE BILL.
Its Provisions as Explained by
the Committee on Ways
and Means.
Report of That Committee to the
House Yesterday The Reasons
for It's Conclusions Pre-
sented in Full
Rooms COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS.
New OrlaAns Fehrunrv a. lssn

Rooms COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS.
New Orleans. February az. 1890.
To the Hpes ker and Members of the House OF
Representatives: .~5@&
Your Committee on Ways and Means. to
which was recommitted House blu No lag.
entitled "An act to provide an annual reve-
nue. for the State OF Louisiana. by the levying
OF annual taxes upon all property not ex-
empted by the constitution from taxation,
and by prescribing the methods OF assessing
and collecting the same. and OF enforcing pay
ment thereof" report thereon rs follows:
The bill No, LAG is ITSELF substitute. pre-
pared and reported by this committee. for
II ouse bill No NJ. having same title. intro
duced by Mr. w. w Farmer of Ouachita. As u
substitute for o substitute is not allowed by
parliamentary rules. and as the recommittal
of the bill No. li6 was equivalent to its indeti
mite postpouement, your committee has pre-
pared q new bill. having the same title. which
Is introduced accompanying this report and
ia reported on favurahly by this committee
with the recommendation that 1t do pass.
Your committee. according to the construc-
tions OF the constitution OF 1862, OF the reve-
uue act Of 1855, enacted under that eonsttt,l-
tion. and of the constitution Of 1879. under
which this House of representatives Ia pro-
eeeding. entertained by its members. has
prepared this new revenue bill. based ON the
revenue bill of la,5. subject to tho require
ments Of tho present constitution"
The first change from the bills Nos ~ and
TAG is In entirely omitsing an enumeration of
the articles or things to be taxed, 80 that sec
tiou now uses the exact language OF the
present constitution. aud no mnre and reads
thus. That for the calendar year A. u. 1880
and for each and every succeeding calendar
year. there are hereby levied annual taxes
amounting In the aggregate to six mills on
the dollar OF the assessed valuation Of all
property situated within the State OF Louisi-
anu. except such rs Is expressly exempted
from taxation by the constitution.
This Is under the requirements" OF article
2l0 of the constitution OF 1879. which reads: I:
"All property shall be- taxed
The corresponding article In the constitu
tiun of 1853 Is entirely different. It reads
thus. "All property on mhtch turrs n,av be
lertfd In this State shall be taxed i'll proper
ton to It's value to be ascertaned as directed
by law
The provision OF the constitution of 1852
not only permitted the General Assembly to
select the particular objects to be taxed. but
required and forced an enumeration OF them
as all Items or things not specifically enumer-
ated were not taxed at all. This article was
fully discussed in the constitutional conyen-
tlons of OF 1868 and 1879, and the conclusion
was the adoption OF the clauses therein, which
roads, in positive language, all property
shall be taxed
1t has been argued that the power to select
the particular objects or items OF property to
be taxed la given by the present constitution
In article 2o2: "The taxing power may be ex-
ereised by the Genera! Assembly for State
purposes, and by parishes and municipal cor
porations under authority granted to them
by the General Assembly for parish and mu-
nicipal purposes" These words, "nag be-"
qualify only the ''purroses" for which the
general power OF taxation can be exercised. =
but tx exercised. or, when exercised as per-
mitted In said article. the manner or mode OF
its exercise is fixed very positively In the
mental principles and requirements:
First Taxation shall be equal and uniform,
not may be.
Secoud All property shaN be taxed not all
may be or some shall be.
Third-The assessment OF all property shall
never exceed the actual cash value thereof.
Fourth The taxpayers shall have the right
OF testing their assessments before the courts
Of justice, not may have
Fifth-In order to arrive at this equality
and uniformity. the General Assembly shut
(not may) at It's first session after the adop-
tion of this constitution, provide u system OF
equality and uniformity In assessments
based upon the relative value OF property In
different portions of the State.
Stxth-The State assessments shall be mot
may be- the assessments for parishes, cities
and towns.
To sum up the conclusions on this uues-
ton. the constitution OF 1852 required hn emu
meration. the constitution OF 1879 obvates 1t
by Itself taxing all property.
Therefore. II any member OF the House OF
Representatives. thinks that all property
ought not to be taxed. and believes that only
certain enumerated things ought to be taxed.
he must blame the constitution Itself and
not attribute the fault to this act. This pro
vision might be- different II your committee
had prepared constitution. but the commit
tee has prepared only a bill subject to the
requirements of the present constitution :
whicl does not permit discretion. Under the
laws now In force all unexempted property Is
either taxed or 1t Is not. III all Is taxed. then
this bill does not increase the quantity OF the
items OF taxable property. II all ts not taxed,
then 1t ought to be taxed In order to obey
"the requirements OF the present constltu-
t!on." lf 1t eontended that any particular
thing fsuch as q watch or q Judgment ought
not to be taxed, the only inquiry necessary Is
whether the watch or the Judgments is prop
erty within the meaning OF the constitution.
X either is not property it cannot be taxed
at all, IL 1t ~ property the constitution
requires II to be taxed, and In such case It's
exemption or It's special omission (which Is
tho same thing as an express exemption
would be unconstitutional.
PROPERTY EyEMPT FROM TAXATION
In the constitution OF 1852 there Is no arti-
Gle exempting any property from taxation.
article l23 full power to exempt whatever
property might be deemed tit for exemption
An enumeration OF the exempted property In
the revenue bill Of 1885 was thus necessitated
in order to secure Its exemption But the
constitution OF 1879 Is totally different "Arti-
Gle 207. The following property shall be ex
empt from taxation, aad no other
The property 50 exempt Is specifically
enumerated In that article, 1t does not say
shall be exempted, that Is. that the revenue
bill shall enact that 1t shall be exempted. bu
by It's own words 1t renders said property
absolutely erempt Additional exemptions
would be unconstitutional. Therefore, In
stead OF enumerating the articles OF prop
erty exempt from taxation 1t Is provided:
SEC. 2. That the property named In ar
| ticle 207 OF the constitution shall be eAamp
| from taxation, and such exemption shall b
allowed only under the tive provisions con
tanned In said article
There Is no provision In this bill requirin
exempt property to be listed and value,
hence the sacred precincts OF home" wi
! not be invaded by the assessor.
DIVISION OF THE TAXES.
Tho constitution of fa52 provided no limit,