The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-13
EFFECTS WILL DE PERNICIOUs.
Proposed Tax LAW VIII InIurc
building and Loan Companies.


Building and Loan Companies.
The bill proposing to tax at it's market
value the capital stock of building and
loan associations, incorporated in the
measure proposed to the legislature by
the State Tax Commission, Is the sub
ject of almost general condemnation By
disinterested financial and taxation ex-
perts II is regarded as pernicious, and the
officers of the corporations 1t affects say
1t will drive them out OF business.
Mr.. J. r. Saussy, Jr., of counsel for
the Georgia State Building and Loan As
ISOLATION, was seen by the Morning News
ana asked for an expression of his com
panys position in this matter. Mr. Saus-
sy said that he had not seen a copy OF the
Dill, and was not prepared, therefore, to
criticise 1t in its entirety but he was
sufficiently familiar with that clause that
had regard to the taxation of building and
loan associations to say that the compa-
MES would scarcely be able to exist should
1t become law
1T is double taxation, of course. said
Mr.. Saussy. 1T proposes to tax nol only
the property, but the stock in the com
pany which represents the propcrty II
ignores the fact that The contracts OF
building and loan associations are all based
on the assumption that only the land upon
which money is loaned will be taxed and
not the stock of the companies. With
millions OF dollars in such Contracts that
the companies viii have to carry out. no
matter what change in the law is made.
II can easily be seen what will be the final
outcome. The possibilities of evil range
from a compelled retirement from BUSH
ness 10 repeated losses and eventual bank
ruptcy and ruin.
IA
tinued, "the bin has its anmus In the
thirst for revenge that possesses many
of the people in the northern part Of the
stale. who have been injured by the fall
ure of certain Tennessee companies to
comply with their contracts and In the
desire of the country bankers to destroy
a business that completes, perhaps serious
ly, with their own There can be no con-
sideradon of either policy or justice that
will dictate the imposition of the proposed
tax. II is wrong 10 Itself and will prove
to be disastrous In its consequence"
1.-THE building and loan association have
been a good thing for this state. They have
been managed for the most part by men Of
intelligence standing and probity and they
have been well managed. They have as
sisted in the upbulding of many sections
OF many cities and towns and they have
served to increase the class Of citizens
who own their own homes-certainly de-
sirable contamination. IT would seem TO
me that these considerations would dictate
a policy of encouragement rather than sup
preston, and / cherish the hope that a
realization of this fact will be born in the
minds of the members of the Legislature
when the bill is put on its passage"
1t appears that no action has been tax n
by the various associations, of the char
acter affected by the clause of the bill re-
ferred to- I'm Savannah to organize to de-
feat its passage. II is altogether probable.
though, that some such scheme viii be per-
fected and that united efforts will be
made to bring 10 the attention Of The L e
islature the evil consequences the officers
of the companies think viii flow from the
enactment of the bill into law. Such ap-
peals to the Legislature have already been
made by the companies in other cities OF
the state and 1t is likely that the Swan
nah companies will either join IN the
movement already instituted or institute n
separate campaign of their own looking to
the same desired end.