The record-union., 1897-03-17
led), CUTTER, Chairman.
DIBBLE.
MINORITY REPORT.

MT. speaker. Ut HlluOIlly VI yOul
select committee to whom was referred
A B. 936, IAN Act to provide for the
| levy and collection of an income tax,
dissents from the majority report and
recommends that said bill be placed on
| its final passage.
The principles of the bill being adj
mitted as good by the majority of your
committee, the only question left is the
details of the measure.
The only objection which has been
offered to the details of the bill has
come, not from your honorable body,
but from a newspaper, which says that
while the bill reads to tax gains, profits
and incomes, and the intention of the
bill is to tax net incomes, still it might
! be made to read with more certainty
| in that respect. By adding the pro-
visions of the Virginia statute, which
/ provides for the deduction of costs of
| operation repairs and interest on in
debtedness from the gross income, this
remote objection would be obviated.
No further time is needed to consider
this matter. For eighteen years we
have been expressly authorized under
the Constitution (see Section IL, Arti-
Gle Is, of the Constitution by legisla-
tive enactment to provide for the as
sessment and collection Of income
taxes from persons, corporations and
joint stock associations or companies,
resident in or doing business in this
State, or any one or more of them, in
such cases and amounts and in such
manner as shall be prescribed by law.
From the foregoing it will be seen
that all necessary power is conferred
on the Legislature to impose such tax,
the only questions left are the need and
the method.
The need is shown when we face the
requirement of raising So, 900 900 for
the support of the States government
for the ensuing two fiscal years. Under
the existing system nearly all of this
will come from persons who have no
net income whatever and who are in
hard stress under present conditions to
pay operating expenses, costs of re-
pairs, interest and the bare cost of
living Any remedy which will require
wealth to pay its just proportion to
State viii be acceptable to the people;
anything that Will alleviate the burden
of taxation viii he hailed as a step in
the right direction.
While the bill under consideration
would bring 81. 800 600. at least of rev.
enue to the State from corporations
. etc, who hardly feel taxation under
present methods, it IS so light a tax
for State purposes as to be considered
only a step in placing the burden Of
taxation where it should rest. that is
on the shoulders of those who are able
to pay. 1t viii be remembered that the
Wilson bill, declared unconstitutional
by the Supreme Court of the United
States, in violation of the precedents OF
100 years. imposed a Federal tax of .
/ per centum on all incomes over 81 00(
per year. One possible advantage has
resulted from that decision, which is
that tax which James c. Blaine held
in his Twenty Years in Congress" tc
be proper and efficient tax, has beer
expressly relegated to the several
States of the Union
No committee or commission is need
ed to further consider this question
What the people need is relef-not two
years from now-but now We have
the embodiment of the work of the
| Massachusetts Commission and COM
missions of other States as consurn,
mated in legislation of those States. We
have the advantage of perfected work
upon q simple question to make sul
beginning.
As an illustration Of the simplicity
of the tax proposed under the bill 936
the minority of your committee calls
attention TO the fact that the bill pro
vides that n net income shall be taxed
as personal property in line with the
Massachusetts statute which taxes in.
comes as it would any form of persona
property
| Finally the minority calls attention tt
the thoughtful message of Governor