Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1891-03-27

The uuaatinn W2s then en- the Ad09no0
Of senate amenensns AZ" ~ folioss:
Amend section S b. striking cut ia tre 81
the word ..emplcye" and insert he wofds
..aushosixed seenG'
Mr.. Chadbo1rne Of Biddeford moved 10
amend - an amer dnent 70 Senate amend
mens "F,- BY striking ont al OF section
afrsr the word .'o4enss' in the S0th line.
Mr.. Chadbcurne sp,ke in favor OF the
amendment Nessrs. Harrington ard
savage in opposition to il. The amend
meas vas rsjecsed
Senate amendment IF" vas hen adopted
In concurrence.
senate ausndments .sG," III ST"
al" IL. !" an ? IN, and 20 we're then
adopted in concurrence.
Mr.. Harrington Of Nofridsevock offered
the following amendment: amend ssctioa
II Of the bill by striking out all after ths
word s'tfied." Ia the 2sd line. The amend
msnt WAS adopted.
Pending the second rsa1iog OF the bill Sf-
White Of Bangor moved ths: ii b. iadef-
nitely postponed, and uron this question
Mr.. Hs.es of Desriss called for yeas aad
nays, which were ordered.
Nessss White and Hathaway OF Pass
dpmkesg spoke ia favor Of the motion 70
postpone. Messrs Circuit Of
Nonmou b and Psaks Of Dover oppossl il.
Mr.. Porter of Bangor moved that the bill
lie on the table for printing. which motion
took precedence Of the motion 20 indefinite
ly postpone. The motion was carried.
CORPORATION TAX BILL,
On motion of Mr.. Savage of Auburn.
bill, an act to aaend chapter 6 OF The Re-
vised Statutes relating to corporation taxes,
tabled pending FIRST reading, was taken
from the table.
Mr.. Savase-Mr Speaker and Gentle
men: There hiss been widespread feel
ing throughout the State that some interests
were unduly favored. rot that they asked
to be, but under the chsnaicg conditions OF
and commefca and finances,
and also the shifting values Of prspeity
.ist had come about, that certain interests
were not bearing so much OF the pubic
burdens as they should, and that other
interests were bearing considerably more
Thst sentiment bee anne 30 widesI read that II
became the duty Of thu Legislature to in
vestigste il. II became the duty OF the
committee appointed by you 10 give heed
70 these suggestions thst ware being made
all over the State, and the result 10 boiled
down into the nine sections Of the bill that
is before US. Seven Of them are amend
msnts to existing sec.iOns of the Revised
Statutes. One relates to railroad tax.
another to street railroad tax, another to
telegraph, another to telephone, another to
express, another to insurance and another
to savings banks. There is also added
section taxing sleeping cse companies
using the roads of the State for their
purposes, and there is also q section taxing
the interest bearing time deposits Of trust
companies in the same manner in which
savings banks de pc sits are taxed. In order
that VS. may see how the plan reported by
the committee will work will call your
a,tention t. s1me figures concerning the
raiiros3 taxes, which are more than all the
rest, so far as the financial results are cod
cerned, aud The fenlemen will bear in mind
that the plan proposed by the committee lie
not the plsn Of the present statutes, $, far
as the graduation of the taxes is concerned
1t is tos the plan of the tax commission
I 10 not even the plSD, SO far AS the
amounts or the scale il concerned that WAC
slgge>tad to the committee By gentlem n
ohio are Interested in the subiscs mater;
but it is one which commended stiii i.sef
in the main to the members Of
the committee, Who have tried to
get q: the marrow Of the thing On this
plan OF railroad tax the tax OF tue Atlantic
& ST Lawrence, or otherwise the Era"d
Trunk Raii~sy. would amount TO Sl3,l72;
its present tax is Sll 726 50, an increase OF
lt'ia moro than $4,000 The tsx Of the
Boston & Maine rosi ~auld be increased
from S33 357, SS to S55 453 "A. The tax
-. n ~.
increased fsom $5S AZ to Sl07 &c The
tax on the Ca afisn Pacific would tie ill.,
c,ease from St2 % to S7s2 so; the FrAnk-
lis & Meganti: Rtiltosd from S26 ~ IN
SIS; the Green Mountsin road from s. II
u IL 50 On the KeHne5ec Central il
you'd he S25 according TO last report. 1t
Didn't ,ame the tax la1t, year. The knox
Lincoln has pail no taxes, being owned by
towns snd dies. It's tax under this isS
would be 1895
The Lewiston and Auburn rsilreaI paid
5000 10 ard The tex would be 1886 80
rhe LIMERICK railroad paid 1928 So, q d
its tar a. computed by this system ~ouli
be Sl573 GS The Maine Central reilroa3
paid la-e yesr tax of S62 500. viii h
would be increased to $50 70l. These tig-
ufes an giviug are, of course, the take.
they are paying TO the State. aad are excll
sive Of he municipal tsxatioa Of the s'a-
tiSn, srouni s AMI buildings The Morson
railrosd increases from S26 SO to S56 81 !;
the Aroostook River road from Sii3 50 to
$i02 "a; tho Houlton branch from $l4 81
to $50 co; the Orchard Bach rs;i
road from Sll.52 to $2l.00; the
Po,tlsndi q Rochester from Sl906.72
to 50 822 90; the Buckspoft railroad from
Si7.l5 to St44 90; tn, Rumford Falls &
Bucxaeid road from Sll9 60 to $40 90
the Sandy Rivsr road from Ss2.8l TO S3i5;
the Ssbashcook & Moosshesd from SIS IS
to $40; the Somerset road from Sl04 OF TO
S279 20; the st Croix & PenobscJ from
$7S AZ to l47 81; the York Iarbor &
Beach from Si55.55 TO Si05.72. These
taxes are assessed upon the same basis as
been the policy Of the State for quite 3
lopg period ofyears, upon the basis OF the
gross transportation Ieceipts. Nearly all
other properly, corporate and o,hersite,
is taxed by municipalities, but railroad,
which stretches its length from Que botde
Of the State to the other, whose property
is OF movable character and is scattered
all over the State, cannot conveniently
and practically be taxed by municipal
lilies; thus ii IVES thought expedieT. ths;
railroads should BE- taxed by the
State as q whole. There i, no railroad in
i':s . ste, unless possibly it might be the
Boston & Maize, which could bear muni-
clpsl tsxation on their property At mum
cip9l ra'es. kept a. so gross an unier
v.lus.ion that the valuation would be
fNcs Take for example the Maine Cen
usl Railroad, with is plant worth at the
coHstfuttion account, Just the main line,
81 0f 0,630. but properly represented
by stock of $500 600 ia ronnd
numbers on the main line, not in
Guiding branches. aud lisbilitie. aggregst
mg shout $4,000, 600. making its total
value as represented by It's stock and bonds
sl9,39 and it il fair to ssy ths. the rail-
rosi "a worth that amount of moley
today. becau,e it hiss an earning
c,pscity sufficient to remunerste
the holders Of the bonds and stock to that
spount, and that il what determines the
vslus Ct a plant II that we're to be taxed
at municipal es, 1t would average IL
per cert on si9, 900 .0o0. The inroad pom
the earnings OF thu corporation woalt be
81 large that it could not d, is business
and would be inevitably forced ether iaIo
insolvency or to co3t,act expenditures
for public good to such an ey
teos rs to be crippled ia its