Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1897-03-18
DIES MONIES LETTER.
SENATE ENGAGED IN DISCUSSING
THE REVENUE BILL.
Assessment of Loan and Building Assoc
Citations Has Caused an Unusual Flow Of
Oratory-Severe Insurance Laws-Big
Saving on State Printing.

DIES MONIES, March 16.-The senate
has been engaged during the past week
in what is really the most important
work of the session, the consideration of
the revenue bill. The bill. as reported
by the joint committee of the house and
senate, covers AZ printed pages, but much
of it has been passed without extended
discussion. There are some sections,
however, which bring many Of the sem
ators to their feet with suggestions for
amendments. Thus far the most dis
cussion has been upon the sections gov
erning the assessment of loan and trust
companies and building and loan asso-
Citations, and although there was de-
termined effort to amend the report in
these particulars, yet the committee has
thus far been able to preserve the bill
practically intact. Up to this morning
25 pages have been considered, but there
are several proposed amendments which
were passed at the time they were
offered in order that they might be
printed. which have not yet been fully
considered. The first amendment of any
Importance which was adopted to the
report was in section 8, providing for
| exemptions from taxation. The COM
mittee report in this section was
amended by the addition of paragraph
making household furniture of the &C
tual value of $500 exempt from taxation.
A strong fight was made to strike out
the exemption of professional libraries
and the motion carried but it was after
ward reconsidered and lost, so that a
professional library to the actual value
of $500 is exempt. Another amendment
exempted obligations for rent not yet
due Sin the hands of original payee :"
The exemption to soldiers and sailors
was somewhat amended and as it now
stands it exempts the homestead, not to
exceed $500 in actual value, of any hon
orably discharged Union soldier or sailor
who is unable to perform manual labor,
but 'the value of any other real estate
owned by him shall be deducted from
such exemption" Section of the bill
which provides that when the average
assessed valuation of property shall ex-
coed the average assessed valuation for
the years 1896 and 1897 the tax levies
must be SO reduced as to correspond
with such increased assessment will
| probably be amended so that the year
1897 will be taken as the standard. An
amendment to this effect has been filed
but not yet considered.
Overall Led the Fight.
Senator Overall led the fight for strik-
ing out section 8, which allows debts to
be deducted from moneys and credits.
He made a strong speech in favor Of
compelling the assessment of moneys
and credits at their actual value without
reference to debts, but it failed to secure
the defeat of the section. Section 13
was amended so that ice dealers as we'll
as grain and coal dealers must be as
sessed upon the average amount of CAPT.
tai used in conducting the business and
upon the value of the ice houses The
section referring to the assessment of
! private banks was passed about as re-
| ported by the committee. Also the Sec
tiOns referring to national bank stock
and corporation stock. Section 20 pro-
vides for taxation of loan and trust
companies AS reported by the commit
tee it provides that stock in such COM
panies owned by residents of Iowa shall
be taxed in case such corporations are
doing business in this state. A strong
effort was made to strike this section
out for the reason that it did not pro-
vide for the taxation of stock owned by
people living outside the state. The
constitutionality of the section was
argued strongly by Senator Healy, who
made the motion to strike out, but it
failed to carry and the section remained
Then Senator Ellis moved to strike out
the words residents of the state,'
where they referred to the stockholders.
| This precipitated long discussion and
| the motion was lost on tic vote. Had
! 1t carried al stock in loan and trust
| companies doing business ilf this state
would have been assessed to the stock
holders whether living in Iowa or not,
| at the prinCipa place Of business Of the
company. The committee argued in
! support of this section that it was in
! tended to induce outside money to como
into Iowa, and thereby keep the rate of
| interest for borrowers as low as posi-
| bic. 1t is by no means certain, how
ever, that section 22 will remain in the
bill, for motion has been filed to recon
| slider the vote by which the Ellis amend
ment failed OF passage. and 1t is prOba-
bic that this motion will prevail.
| Jupkin's Substitute Lost.
Section 70, governing the taxation Of
building ana loan associations, was dis
cussed for two days. This section, %
originally reported by the committee
was bitterly opposed by representatives
of the local and other building and loan
associations of the state and there was a
good sized lobby here to secure modi-
fcation of the section. A substitute
was proposed by Senator Junkin which
provided that the holders Of shares of
| stock in such associations should list
| them for taxation, giving at the same
time the cash value Of the shares on the
first day of January preceding. and the
tax to be levied upon such shares should
be levied at the place of residence of
stockholders and as taxes on other per-
sonal property. The real estate owned
by the association should be taxed to the
| association i'll counties where the real
estate is located. This substitute was
much simpler than the original section
as proposed by the committee. The
latter required that the association
chon1l ut ;r- ~,