The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-12


The tax bill, which the Tax Commission
has prepared for the Legislature, is going
to meet with very great opposition. 1t
hits many interests very hard. It hits
them so hard that II counties and cities
should follow the lead Of the state in tax
matters, which they would undoubtedly
do, many corporations would be compell-
cd to give UP their charters.
On Friday the Tax Commission gave a
hearing 10 a number of gentlemen from
/ Augusta who protested against taxing. at
Its fun market value, the capital stock OF
/ building and loan companies. They said
! that these companies in Augusta were
| now barely making both ends meet, and
| that if the tax bill were to become a law,
/ in It's present shape they would have to
| go into liquidation. One of the arguments
they advanced was that the parties who
borrow money from the building and
loan associations pay taxes on the prop
erty in which they invest 1t, and that
therefore II would be double taxation II
the capital stock of the associations were
taxed.
Unless we are greatly mistaken, double
taxation is a leading feature of the bill
Of the Tax Commission. Real estate Is
taxed and the mortgages on real estate
are taxed. The property OF a corporation
is taxed, and also the stock and bonds it
has issued. Is there any state in the
Union which has such a sweeping system
of taxation? We doubt If there is. Our
constitution, in so far as it relates to the
taxation Of property, Is like that of Penn
sylvania. and yet in that state there.tis
only a nominal tax on securities, the the
DRY being that the property on which the
securities are based is taxed, and that one
tax is sufficient.
If this tax bill should become a law,
and the proposition to cut down the legal
rate of interest to six per cent. should be
approved, nobody living in the cities Of this
state could afford to loan money on real
estate The rate of taxation for all pur-
poses is nearly two and half per cent.
in this city. Bonds of cities ana
railroad bonds yield from four and
half to five per cent II is
apparent, therefore, that under the
proposed taxing scheme about half Of
the income from securities would 90 to
ttiS TAX Bdtntrer. Inc result OF such tax
alton would be to prevent capital from
coming into the state, and to force those
having money to invest to send 1t else
where.
But the Tax Commission says the state
must have money. That is true, but there
should not be such taxation as to dry no
the sources from which taxes are derived.
If that policy is pursued 1t will not be
long before a system of taxation approach
Ing conhscation will have to be adopted.
There are two things the Legislature
ought to bear in mind in egfslating in the
matter of taxation. One is that compare
lively few of the counties now pay into
the state treasury more than they draw
out of 1t, and that the additional taxes
which II is proposed by this bill of the
Tax Commission would have to be paid by
the few counties which now support the
state government. The other is that the
great increase in the expenditures of the
state is largely due to loose legislation in
respect to pensions. This legislature
while seeking to increase the states in
come. should heed the words of the Gov
ernor about retrenchment. One session of
the Legislature every two years would
satisfy the people, though 1t might not
satisfy the politicians, and biennial ses-
sions would save the state a very consid-
cradle sum of money.