St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-02-01
A TAX REVOLUTION.
The McKusick Bill Which Pro-
poses TO Regulate Corporations.


poses TO Regulate Corporations.
Representative McKusick will intro
duce into the house to-day the following
extremely important bill:
An act proposing an amendment TO article
(4) of the constitution of the state of Min
nesota by adding thereto a new section in
relation 10 the assessment and taxation of
corporate property.
Be it enacted by the legislature of the
state of Minnesota:
Section l. The following amendment to
article (Q Of the constitution Of the state of
Minnesota is hereby proposed 10 the people
of the stats, that is to say that said article
"a shall be amended by adding thereto the
following additional section To be numbered
as section thirty six 1867:
Section 30. The property of railroad, tele-
graph and telephone companies, as well as
the property of all corporations, shall be
assessed and taxed i'll the same way and
manner and upon the same basis of valuation
as the property of individualsis is assessed and
taxed, and uniform proceeding to enforce
the payment of taxes shall be observed in
each case. All the property, real personal
or mixed, belonging in whole or in rart to
any corporation, shall be assessed and
taxed except such as may by law be eX-
empted to municipal, religious, eleemosyn-
Rry and educational corporations.
This amendment authorizes the assessment
and taxation of all the property above con-
templated without further enactment or for
mality,
Sec 3 The proposed amendment shall be
submitted 10 the people of this state 70: ap-
proval or rejection at the next general
election occurring after the passage of this
act; and if it shall appear thereupon that a
majority of the electors present and voting
for or against the proposed amendment TO
the constitution, as provided in the next Sec
ton, have voted i'll favor of the same. then
the governor shall make proclamation
thereof, and such amendment shall there
upon take effect and be in force as a part of
the constitution of this state.
sec. 3. The ballots used at such elections
by the electors voting in favor of this amend
ment shall have written or printed, or partly
written and partly printed therenpon, the
following words: amendment of article
four az of the constitution, by adding
thereto a new section in relation to the as
sessment and taxation of corporate prop
erty-Yes." And the ballots used at said
election by the electors voting against such
amendment shall have written or printed, or
partly written and partly printed thereon,
the words: amendment OF article four (G
OF the constitution by adding thereto q new
section i'll relation to the assessment and tax
alton OF corporate property-No."
This proposition (Whether it ever be-
comes a law or not) will prove to be a
bombshell in the camp of the corporate
interests of Minnesota. So far they have
enjoyed comparative freedom from
taxation IN this state, such taxes as they
have paid being but a small per cent
upon their gross earnings. Representa-
tive McKusick has had the subject mat
ter of this bill under consideration for
months. and brings the bill III as the re-
suit of his study. He considers it to
meet the uttermoSt demand made
by the farmers Of the state
In regard to corporate taxation
end to be proposition eminently cal