The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-08-16
CAPT. cooKR WHITES.

agement Of Secretary of States Office.
OFFICE OF Q. N. COOKE & Son, }
Attorneys for s. A. L. Railway.
Louisburg, N. O., Aug. 8. SO
Correspondents of The Progressive Farmer.
My attention has been called to a
publication in The PROGRESSIVE FAR
MER in its issue Of April 18th, last, com
pairing the present administration of
the Secretary Of State with the admin
istrations of his predecessors which
does injustice to the latter. There
have been other references to this sub
ject by your paper and by other papers
in the State, and TRUST deductions
drawn from the estimates and figures
given in the said article.
The article referred to gives what is
claimed to be q correct statement Of
the taxes from insurance companies
collected and paid to the Treasurer by
the present Secretary of State from
January. 1897, to April 1st, 1898, and
compares this statement with the
amount reported collected and paid
over by Secretary Cooke from Septem.
Der 1st, 1895, to January 1st, 1897. To
one unacquainted with the law this
would seem fair. But to one familiar
with the law it would appear, as is the
fact, that the period covered by the
time selected from DR.. Thompson's ad-
ministration is for the purpose of col.
Letting the commission tax on insur-
ance, to which it refers, practically
two years, while the period covered
by the time selected from Secretary
Cookies administration in respect to
this same sub ject matter covers prac-
tically only one year.
The law in respect to the commission
taxes on insurance companies is:
THAT the commission tax of 3 per cent.
on the receipts of the insurance com,
panies is due and payable within 80
days after the reports of the companies
are filed, and such reports must be
filed within 80 days after the first days
of January and July respectively. A
much larger business is done by the in
surance companies during the fall
months and the taxes on the January
reports are much larger than on the
July reports. 1t will be seen that
while there were sixteen months Of
the Cooke administration, it only en-
braced the times for the receiving Of
two semi annual reports and two semi.
annual taxes. namely, January, 1896,
and July, 1896. While the 143 months
taken from DR.. Thompson's admins
tration includes the return periods of
January, 1892, July. 1892, and Janu.
airy, 1898. 4.
There are two taxes on insurance
companies. The one is the commission.
tax referred to above and the other the
specific license tax. Toe commits sion
tax has been uniformly 2 per cent, but
the law allowing reduction of this
tax to 1 per cent. for investment of the
companies receipts in this State has not
been uniform in respect to its require
ments. For years this reduction was
allowed on the investment of one half
Of the premium receipts in this State,
and a number Of the insurance com.
panies complied with the law and only
paid one per cent. taxes On their re-
ceipts. In 1895, during the last year
of Secretary Coke's administration,
the law vas changed SC as to require
the investment in this State of one
fourth Of the entire assets of the COM
pany to secure this reduction. None
Of the companies except those char
tered in North Carolina availed them
selves of this new law. This should be
considered in favor Of Col. Coke and
Col. Saunders in considering the in
crease Of the amount of taxes collected
by the Cooke and Thompson admins
tration over theirs. The license tax
has been several times changed. At
the commencement of Col. Saunders
administration, in 1879, it Wes 500 on
both fire and life insurance companies,
and it so continued until the act of the
legislature prece odipg the adoption of
the Code in 1888, when it was raised to
1920, ard it was so written in the Code.
But in 1885 this license tax was re-
duced both for fire and life insurance
companies to $50, and so continued to
1891, when it was again increased to
800. In 1895 the tax on fire insurance
companies was left at $40, but was in
creased to 5000 on life companies. In
March, 1897, it vas increased to 5000
on fire companies and $3.50 On life COM
panies. So it will be c29n that during
the lc9t year Of the Coke administra-
ton and during the Cooke administra.
ton the license on the fire insurance