Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-03-23
HEAR GRIEVANCES
Finance Committee Gives Ear to
Merchants and Lawyers.
BOARD of Trade Committee Asks That aIcr-
chant Tax lie Placed Back as II stood In
1898 Lawyers Want II Different Scale
OF Taxation ON Themselves.

ellis heard the grievances OF Norfolk
merchants and lawyers on special taxes
last night. The merchants were rep
resented by Alessrs. II. w. Shulticc and
w. IL. Wales, Jr., who appeared as Il
committee from the Board OF Trade
and Business Mems Associations and
Messrs G. Whittle Sans and j. Sydney
Smith addressed the committee on be-
half of the lawyers.
About II dozen lGuor dealers We're
present at the meeting. expecting to am
Swer request that the liquor licenses
be put back at $3.50, but this matter
dld not come IN. Mr.. Charles c. Can
non president of the Virginia Retail
Liquor Dealers Association, said he
had heard that the Board of Trade
committee would advocate increasing
the LIQUOR license. but as nothing Of
ne Kind had been done, he would ask
lie committee to let the license remain
at ESQ The Finance Committee. in last
year budget, put the license at $3.50.
put me councils changed this one item
OF the budget. taking off SlOO.
The committee last year Increased
the Ian on merchants two-thirds. or
% I'd per cent, and increased their
license from So To $40. Notwithstanding
this increase the revenue from thi,.
source increased but about ~ per cent.
showing Il remarkable state of affairs
mat was explained by several pcntlo
men last night by the fact thar many
Oh me merchants had so far as their
conscience would let them cyaded what
incy considered an eXtortionate tax II
was shown that last year s33 600 in :.
round sum was collected from NOR
ehahts lor license and tax OH their
BUSINESS. Tnis approximately averages
sos ior every merchant which AIessrs
Shultice and Wales were willing to adj
mt was Il reasonable average lax bu+
they argued that the conscicnfious
i,'erchtnts were bearing the burden and
the majority were getting around it.
MT. seaman. chairman OF the com
mittec. called attention to the fact tho,
oVe' cUO of the 500 odd merchants were
-Gi4XlnG= SD -la&-liIiA a.,
Sio license The merchants are taxed
say Tor the coming fiscal year. upon
what they estimate their business will
ne during the year. Mr.. TaZewell Inv
Tor IL member of the committee rc
marked that a big majority of the mer-
chants are posSimistc when they come
10 make this estimate. II was shown
by "a list before the committee last
night that many of them give in 81 0O1
VINO are paying almost that sum for
the rent OF their stores, and some who
are paying In excess of what they give
in. eNe
CTS action in increasing the tax had
been failure, so far as it had roved
Il feVenuc-raiser. He said merchants
VINO mad contemplated coming here had
Deen scared away by the high tax on
their business. and he therefore thought
IL nest that he tax be reduced to where
IL was in 1898. and if means were pro-
Vided whereby reasonable returns
wonld be made by the merchants Tho
a 10
nue. as the present rate. This would
relieve the conscientious merchants Of
making up for those with elastic con-
sciences.
Mr.. Shulticc concurred in this view
He had been told by Colonel Uudf,ins
president of the Board OF Trade ann
business Mems Association. that the
nigh tax kept away merchants and
hurt the city, for those who contom-
plate coming here. he said were either
honest and expected to give the as
SCISSOR honest returns. or persons who
do not know that the law is being
evaded
Both Mr.. Shultice and Mr. Wales sug-
gested that raising the license ana rc-
ducing the other tax would partly rom
edy the evil.
LAWYERS COMPLAINT.
Mr. {. Whittle Sans presented a pc
tition signed by number of LAWYERS
asking different grading of attor
neys' tax. The present scale. il is
claimed. works injustice. Lawyers now
pay $40 n year for the first five wears
of their practice; $40 Il year from the
beginning of the sixth to the end of
the tenth year, and s75 year there
after, provided they shall not nav more
than $40 any year if their practice does
not exceed $500. The lawyers want the
latter provision amended so as to make
IL 81 600. They also want the scale so
changed as 10 tax lawyer according
to his income. and want the separatc
tax on the business of negotiating
loans, etc, left off.
The Finance Committee will take the
PROPOSITIONS into considerat ton.