Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1889-11-01
TAX THE CORPORATIONS.
A Talk With the Governor.
Three Constitutional amendments

Governor jackson is making investiga-
tons into matters of taxation and corpora
ton privileges preparatory to writing his
next message. He was questioned at the
Carrollton Hotel last week concerning the
leading features of the forthcoming State
paper, and his answers indicated that he
means business He said 81 have been
gathering data for the past six months, upon
which | intend to base at least three i'm
portant recommendations involving changes
in the constitution OF the State.
81 find that two railroads that run through
the State of Delaware on tracks about fifty
miles long pay to the State of Delaware
more than all the railroads in this State pay
to Maryland. One of these is the Baltimore
and Ohio Road, which pays us but about
$4,000, while for only the short strip OF
its track through Delaware it pays about
$25,00O
New Jersey, find, by the reports OF
1887, Il have not seen the 1888 reportO col
lected Il million dollars from railroads alone.
New Jersey, for State purposes, does not get
a dollar from licenses. Such fees go to the
cities and townships where they are levied.
To balance this somewhat it must be said
that the school system is under,loca control
and the schools are supported locally.
To gather the tax effectively there is a
board of three assessors for the department
Of railroad taxes alone, who employ clerk
or two. Much as l am opposed to creating
new offices shall favor such commission
for this State when practicable. Our State
tax is III cents on the hundred dollars In
New Jersey it is e-half of one per cent. or
fifty cents on every hundred dollars, and the
tax covers all corporations proportiona;eiy.
Thus telephone companies pay 10 per cent
on gross earnings. Here, the tax would, OF
course, result in u tax of $40 year for each
telephone, the rental of each phone being
800 year.
an Pennsylvania one million and a-half
dollars a year are collected from railroads
alone, while Maryland gets less than $780,
600 from this source. The Pennsylvania
tax is collected in several directions, one OF
which is gross tax like ours.
mot only the railroads, but many other
corporations in this State representing great
wealth enjoy exemptions from taxation.
Where we collect one half of one per cent.
of gross earnings | shall insist on at least 81
per cent.
ii shall recommend an amendment to the
bill of rights TO overcome the abuses arising
from the corporation construction of that
clause which provides that every person
shall pay upon his actual worth in real and
personal property. Reference of this ques
ton to the Court of Appeals has established
precedents by which corporations escape as
being especially exempt by charter from the
tax provision of the bill. What does this
mean? Only that you must not tax any cor
poration that owns valuable franchise? |
propose we shall get rid of these exemptions
by specially exemptng only those institu
tons which the public desires to exempt,
such as churches, purely charitable institu-
tons, schools and the like. Then the State
would find its way clear to tax corporations
1.-The second amendment shall propose
is the one l have persistently stood for i'll
the State Senate. That is, that when a cor.
poration goes to the Legislature for any
special privilege it shall forfeit the right to
any exemptions received previously under
its charter
The third amendment would be one Civ.
ing the Governor power to veto any sin gle
item in general appropriation bills. This
would enable any odious riders to be caught
before they could work harm. have known
cases in which necessary bills were kept
back until the close of the session and when
then rushed through there would be at.
tacled to them certain appropriations that
coulN be expunged without impairng the
validity of the really necessary part.
al have advocated new constitutional
conven ton for years. upon the ground that
under il such things as | have spoken of
could be amended. Certainly large amount
of property that goes untaxed throws I'M
necessary burdens upon those who are taxed
already, and even re assessment will not
bring the relief the public must have, unless
the property now enjoying exceptional ex-
emptions are included. Take, for instance,
the cost of maintaining our militia at $50, 900
year. Who pays it? The people. Who gets
the beneftp We cannot disguise the fact
that those large exempted corporations, be-
tween whom and their employees misunder-
standings occuE sometimes that lead to vio-
lence, get the benefit of the soldiers. 1t is
not wonder tina farmers ridcule the idea
as have heard them do-of appropriating
money for sendina the militia to camp.
you well know the opposition to the
holding of u constitutional convention, and
the quarter from which it came when the
people were told that radical and hurtiul
changes in the judiciary were to be made.
1t was not the case where the people were
plainly made to understand what abuses the
proposed convention WAS intended to cor
rect. A concise canvass of the State should
have been made for tbd call. lam not built for
an orator, and could NOT undertake SO serious
a task, but went befose my people at home
and explained the a1imus of the move
ment in my own plain way. They saw the
point, and the county responded with ma
jority OF $50 ia favor a the call, which WAS
the largest majority giVsE IN any part OF the
State.
"A word about the exa option of corpora
ions as compared withl their franchises.
Take the b. and o. II Aas franchises that
Enable it TO owe hnndRed million dollars,
favor repeal of the Jaw OF 1915, 10 which