The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-09-05
On Taxing Corporations.


~ proposed in the license tax
4 y ordinance to he considered
by councils tonight is one
imposing a levy of per cent. on the
gross receipts of electric light COM
panies. An effort was recently made
TO raise this To per cent. and 1t failed
by a narrow margin. 1t is understood
that it may he renewed.
The right of the city TO impose this
tax is, We believe. generally conceded.
1t is also widely believed that most of
our franchise enjoying public service
corporations are undertaxed at pres
ent when due account is taken of the
value of the privileges which they en-
JOY and when comparison is made
with the taxation paid by the ordinary
property Yet it should never he
the City's wish to increase taxes with
out carefully considering the COnsc-
quences; and ii may we'll be asked
whether a suddenly imposed per cent.
levy on the gross receipts of electric
liGht and power companies would not
represent an over taxation that would
really be charged back upon the con-
sumner and in the end hurt the city.
such a levy would certainly get back,
in time, on the user Of clcCtri, ligh. or
power. who would thus pay his own
tax and part of the comrany's in adj
Gitior.
There is this to he said in favor of
III" local electric company: It is fur
nishiCG electric power to consumers at
rate almost az low as those prevail
Ing at Niagara Falls. and as its lines
extend over the entire city, it is no
longer necessary for manufacturer to
locate his factory solely with refer
cnce TO convenience in obtaining and
handling coal, nor does he have to
erect a cumbersome and costly plant
of boilers and engines. He has only
the needs Of his business itself and
the cost of land, To consider. Few peo-
PIE realize how many uses electric
power is applied to, or the number Of
ConeGmcrs of power i'm one form or
another That form of power is es-
ptciallY favorable to the dcvelopmrnt
the cost and maintenance of a steam
plant would be prohibitivc. and the
larger its extension, the cheaper il can
he furnished to the consumer Many of
the hundreds Of users of power i'm this
city would be injured, Ierhaps some
of them ruined or driven away, by the
INCREASE in rates which would neccs-
sarily follow IA sudden and excessive
increase in taxation. We do not want
TO discourage the multiplication of
small new industries.
SO faI, the policy of the company
has been TO furnish current at the low
est possible rate in order to encourage
the general use of electricity, believing
that it is better to obtain a small profit
from each of a large number of con-
sumers than large profit from a few.
The natural tendency of the principle
Of overtaXing the gross receipts of
such a concern is to encourage pre-
cisely the opposite system, by making
ii an object to the company to keep its
prices high and its gross receipts low
in proportion to it's profits.
We are not holding a brief for tax
dodgers. Every corporation should pay
TO the city a fair tax on the privileges
It enjoys as well as upon its real estate
But where changes of taxation are
proposed, let them be well thought out
and If increase is deemed just and wise
let II be made in a manner the least
likely to disturb business values. Our
city has been made by corporations
We are largely dependent upon them
for the growth that we expect in the
future. 1t is to our interest, therefore
to treat them fairly and not to indulge
in any splurge movements that may
recoil. Those who like TO hurl bombast
at corporations and pose before the
unthinking as great champions of the
nlain people are often less qualified &c