St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-09

10 De InaC lney make loans TO or Ql-
vide their profits among their members
OF depositors, or policy hlders. Every
corporation is carried on, however,
for the benefit Of it's members, whether
stockholders, depositors or policy hold
ers. If it is carried on for the benefit
OF it's shareholders every dollar of in
come tax is taxed; if it is carried ON
for the benefit of it's policy holders or
depositors who-are but another c,ass
of shareholders, it is wholly exempted.
AS to building and
LOAN ASSOCIATIONS
the property of these institutions is
exempted from taxation to the extent
of millions. They are in no sense
benevolent or charitable institutions
and are conducted solely for the pc
cuniary profit of their members. Their
assets exceed the capital stock of the
National banks of the country. The
aggregate amount of saving to these
associations by reason of their eX-
emption is over 100000 year.
This inherent limitation upon the
taxing power forbids the imposition
OF taxes which are unequal in their
operation upon similar kinds of prop
erty, and necessarily strikes down
the gross and arbitrary distinctions
in the income law as passed by con-
gress. The law, as we have seen, dis
tinguiSheS in the taxation between
corporations by exempting the prop
erty of some of them from taxation
and levying the tax on the property
of others when the corporations do not
materially differ from one another in
the character of their business or in
the protection required by the gov
eminent.
IT TAXES JUDGES.
The law of congress is also invalid
in that it authorizes a tax upon the
salaries of the judges of the United
States against the declaration of the
constitution that their compensation
shall not be diminished during their
continuance in Office.
In conclusion, Justice Field said:
If the court sanctions the power of
discriminating taxation, and nullifies
the uniformity mandate of the consti-
tuition as said by one who has been
all his life a student of our institutions,
1t will mark the hour when the sure
decadence of our present government
: will commence. If the purely arbitrary
limitation of A coo in the present law
can be sustained, none having less than
that amount of property being assessed
or taxed for the support of the govern
ment, the limitation of future congresses
may be fixed at a much larger sum, at
five or ten, or twenty thousand dollars,
parties possessing that amount alone
being compelled to bear the burdens
of government.
81 am of the opinion that the whole
j law of 1894 Should be declared void, and
without any binding force-that part
which relates to the tax on the rents,
profits or income from real estate,
that is so much as constitutes the
direct tax because not imposed by
the rule of apportionment, according
| to the representation of the states, as
| prescribed, by the constitution-and
thatepart which imposes a tax upon
1 the bonds and securities of the several
states, upon the bonds and securities
of their municipal bonds, as being be-
yond the power of congress to impose,
and the law SO far as it imposes duties,
imposts and excuses as void in not pro-
yiding for the uniformity required by
the constitution in such cases.