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

to be that they make loans to or di-
vide their profits among their members
soF depositors, or policy hlders. Every
corporation is carried on, however,
fer the benefit of its members, whether
stockholders, depositors or policy hold
srs. If it is carried on for the benefit
OF its 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-ar 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 s600,OO0 a 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
ernment.
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-
tution,' 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 $4,000 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
nent, the limitation of future congresses
may be fixed at a much larger sum, at
Eve 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
law of 1894 Should be declared void, and
without anW binding force-that part
which relates to the tax on the rents,
profits or income from real estate,
that is go much as constitutes the
direct tax, because not imposed by
the rule of apportionment, according
to the representation of the states, as
prescribed, by sthe constitution-and
thatzpa which. imposes a tax upon
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 excises as void in not pro-
yiding, for the uniformity required by
the constitution in such cases.