The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-18
NEW SCHEME OF TAXATION.
THE BILL TO BE INTRODUCED BY
STATE TAX COMMISSION.

IeGttuEEH-f1e ElNDeclaily Tom n us
That Clause Providing for a state
hoard OF Tax AsSessOrs-Thinks 1t
ShouId Assess the Counties and
Then Require Them to Make Good
the Asscssment-Presen scheme Is
Grossly Unfair to the Larger COun-
ties-LocaI Boards Also Favored.
Since the last session Of the Legislature
a sub-comm ttee of the State Tax Com
mission has been at work drafting a tax
bill. that is expected to revolutionize the
methods of state taxation at present in
vogue. The committee have given some
portions OF the bill they propose to intro
duce rather general publicity and their
statements have caused much discussion
OF the wisdom of the measure.
The leading feature of the bill will be
clause providing for a general commits
sion. to take general charge of the levy of
taxes in the state, and special commissions
for each county. 1t is understood in some
quarters that this will do away with the
office of receiver of tax returns, though
it Is not commonly thought that this will
be the case. It is rather felt that the
County Commissioners will be boards of
assessment merely, and that they will have
nothing to do with receiving the returns
Of the taxpayers after they have decided
upon what these returns shall be. How
ever here has yet been no authoritative
statement from any member of the com
mittee engaged in drafting the bill. and
1t is not definitely known what their in
tentions are in this particular. nor, indeed
in any other
kilograms that have been sent out from
Atlanta to the Morning News saw that the
Dill will provide that the valuations of
property shall be made throughout the
state on the first day of January IT seems
70 be the idea of the members of the com
mittee that the stocks of merchants are
larger at this time than at any other dur
ing the year, though it is difficult to find
any expert on the subject of taxation or
| the proper method for the collection of
| taxes who will agree with the committee
/ In this conclusion.
1t IS believed, on the contrary, that the
| stocks of merchants are depleted at this
! time on account of the holiday sales. and
/ that their cash balances with their bank
| ers nave suffered because of drafts drawn
| upon them by the Northern and Western
! firms with whom they deal. and with
! Whom they are required to settle on the
| tifst day of the year. In April. when in
/ the past it has been the law and custom
! TO make the valuation, it is customary for
| the merchants to have reDlenished their
| stock for the spring trade and to have
made good their depleted cash balances by
| collections from the sales made during the
preceding holidays
| capt. john X. Dillon, receiver of tax re-
! turns for Chatham county was asked for
| an opinion as to the merits of the hill
! as Il mad been forecasted in the Atlanta
| kilograms, and the probability of it result
| ing in a more just and equitable scheme
| OF taxation for the state. In response to
a question in regard to the appointment
/ OF state and county boards of tax assess
| ors. Capt. Dillon said:
Il can't make out from what has been
! written on the subject just what IL Is in
/ tended to include i'm the bill but its e-p
| eral features, il they have been correctly
| stated, appeal to me as containing tie se7d
! OF a material advantage to those counties
| OF the state thai have been bearing all The
burdens of the STATE government, 1t Is
! needless TO say that Chatham is one of
/ these counties"
Some years ago we had board of tax
assessors in this county and it worked
Wen and produced results that were dis
/ tnct advantage. / think fl would he well
! 20 repeat the experiment and 1 trust that
/ a provision of this character forms part
/ of the bill, the introduction of which is
!
state board, if it is constituted properly
and entrusted with proper powers. is the
| one to which look for the greatest amount
| Of good
1T has long been my opinion that what
! the state needed was a state board of tax
equalization. Under my conception Of its
/ duties, this board would survey the rich
ness, the possessions and the material
/ prosperity Of each county in the state aud
I then decide just how much money il should
pay INTO the state treasury. To secure
good results the board must be made up of
fair and just men, who will assess the pro-
I portion OF the expenses of the government
that each county should bear. without fav-
or or Partially. This done. II would he the
duty of the county boards to see that the
amount assessed was raised"
There is a constitutional question in
volved that may not be easy to solve. but
/ | hope that in this manner the unfair
I condition of affairs now prevailing In this
state could be obviated. 1t might be that
the state board could require that each
county pay into the treas ury as much, at
least, as il takes out and that the unfair
method by which, at present, about forty
| counties pay all the expenses of the gov
eminent and help to support the ninety
seven others could be radically changed
This condition has been becoming gradu-
ally worse and II looks now that within
few years it will be dozen or less coun-
ties, instead of forty, upon whom the bur
den of paying the expenses Of the state
will fall"
How about the provision making the
first day of January the time for fixing the
valuation of property" Capt Dillon was
asked.
To me, personally. it would seem that
this change would not result in good. As
a matter Of fact the stocks of merchants
are generally less at that time than at
any other, except possibly the very DIM
season in the middle of summer while in
April they are usually comparatively full.
But, the professional tax dodger. II such
a parsonage ever existed, is shrewd enough
to get around any scheme to make him
pay his just proportion of the pubic ex-
pense that can be devised and don't know
that the change will do any material
harm"
There is one change though. that I
would like to see made and that l have
discussed and suggested before. This is
a provision allowing greater time for the