St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-10-08
PROPOSED contribution
AMENDMENT.

The Legislature of the State of Minnesota
has provided by Chapter one of the General
Laws of 1893, for the submission to the peo-
pie Of the STATE for their approval or rejee.
zion at the general election to be held therein
in November OF the present year, an amend.
ment to Section One U of Article Nine 20
OF the State Constitution.
The section to be amended now reads Of
follows:
SECTION I. All taxes tie be raised in this
state shall be as nearly equal as may be; and
all property OH which taxes are to be levied
shall have cash valuation. and be eQualized
and uniform throughout the state Provided,
that the legislature may by general law OF
to levy assessments for local improvements,
upon the property fronting upon such i'm
Drovements or upon the property to be bene-
fitted by such improvements. or both. without
regard to cash valuation, and in such man
ner as the legislature may prescribe. And
provided further, that for the purpose OF de
fraying the expenses of laying water pipes
and supplying any city or municipality with
water, The legislature may, by general or spe-
cial law, authorize any such city or munich
pality, having population of five thousand
(5,000) or more, to levy an annual tax or as
sessment upon the lineal foot of all lands
fronting Oh any water main or water pipe
laid by such city or municipality within cor
porate limits of said city for supplying water
to the citizens thereof without regard to the
cash value of such property,an to empower
such city to collect any such tax assessments
or fines, or penalties for failure to pay the
same, or any Tne or penalty for any violation
of the rules of such city or municipality in
regard to the use of water, or for any water
rate due for the same
PROPOSED AMENDMENT.
1t is proposed by the said act OF 1893 to
amend the above quoted section of the Con-
stitution by adding thereto the following
proviso; viz. -
And. provided further. that there may be
by law levied and collected tax upon all in
heritances, devises, requests, legacies and
gifts Of every kind and description above a
fixed and specified sum. of any and all nat
ural persons and corporations. Such tax
above such exempted sum may be uniform,
or it may be graded or progressive but shall
not exceed maximum tax of five per cent?
The purpose of the proposed amendment
is to clothe the Legislature with authority to
tax the following subjects:
l. lnheritanceS =. DeviSes. 3. Requests.
4. Legacies. 3. Gifts.
I. The said proposed amendment contem-
plates that all inheritances, devises ETC., III
excess of certain amount to be determined
by the Legislature, shall be subject to taxa
ton. q.
q The tax may be graded or progress
sive, but shall not exceed maximum tax of
five per cent" In other words, it is pro-
posed to confer upon the Legislature author
ity to tax the above named subjects by APP
propriate methods to any extent not in ex-
cess of five per cent IF the amount thereof
3. The Legislature may, if such authority
is conferred. prescribe fixed rate moi to ex-
coed five per cent, applicable to all Inherit
ances, devises requests, legacies and gifts
regardless of the amount thereof. In other
words. it may provide that an inheritance Of
Eve Hundred Dollars shall be taxed at the
same rate prescribed for an inheritance of
Fifty Thousand Dollars.
4. 1t may provide rates OF taxation vary
ing with the amount of the Inheritance de.
wise, etc. The rate of taxation may be made
to vary as applied 10 any particular inherit
ance, beQuest, ETC. For illustration. an in
heritance Of One Hundred Thousand Dollars
may be taxed at a certain rate for the first
Ten Thousand Dollars. different rate for
the next Ten Thousand Dollars. ana a still
different rate for the third Ten Thousand
Dollars, and so on, according to rule which
shall be pre- cribed by the Legislature.
5. The tax contemp plated by the proposed
amendment is defined generally ITO be a
burden imposed by government upon all
gifts, legacies inheritances and SUGGESTIONS.
whether of real or personal property, or both,
or any interest therein, passing to certain
persons by will, by interstate law, or by any
deed or instrument made inter vivos in
tended to take effect at or after the death of
the grantor."
8. The justice Of such tax is claimed to
rest upon the fact that the right to take prop
erty by devise or descent is the creature of
the law and secured and protected by its
authority; wherefore, it is urged that the
state may justly attach to such subjects q
reasonable tax.
Z. Similar legislation has been in force
for some years In Pennsylvania and several
other states.
s. The said amendment is proposed for
the reason that doubt prevails as to the valid
ity of such legislation in the absence Of eX-
press constitutional authority.
II. w. CHnDs,
Dated March "a. 1894. Attorney General.