The Savannah morning news., 1901-10-19
TAX ON INHERITANCE
BILL TO BE INTRODUCED IN LEGIs-
LATURE PROVIDING FOR IT.
WILL MEAN HEAVY REVENUE.
IF 1T PASSES AS DRAWN BY ONE OF
GALATIANS REPRESENTATIVE

Gifts, Legactes and lnheritances
Aimed at-GeOrgia Has No Such
Law at Present, Though 1t Pre-
walls in Nineteen States-It Has
Been Contested rs Unconstitu-
tional, But in the Majority OF
Cases Supreme Courts Upheld
the Law Is Claimed That
Such Law i'm Georgia Would Mean
at Least 100000 to the States
Revenues - Estimate Made From
Chatham County
A bill to tax gifts, legacies and in
heritances, to provide for the assess
ment and collection of such taxes and
for other purposes will be introduced
in the Legislature by Representative
Hitch of Savannah during the coming
term. The bill is far-reaching in its
scope, and is of great importance in
that it will affect the heirs of all de-
and will tend to add heavily to the
revenues of the state, if adopted.
The leading provision of the bill is
that a tax shall be imposed upon the
transfer of any property, real or per-
sonal or mixed, TO persons or corpora
tons not exempt by law from taxa
ton on real or personal property, in
the following cases When the trans
fer is by will or by the intestate laws
of the state, from any person dying,
seized or possessed of the property
while resident of the state; when
the transfer is by will, or intestate law,
of property within the state, and the
decedent was a nonresident of the
state at the time of his death; when
the transfer is of property made by
resident, or by a. nonresident, when
such non-residents property is within
| this state, by deed, grant, bargain, sale
or gift, made in contemplation of the
death of the grantor, vendor, or donor,
or intended to take effect in possession
or enjoyment at or after such death.
The bill is very voluminous, cover
ing twelve pages of legal cap. In speak
ing of the bill yesterday. Rep
resentative Hitch said that 1t
had been prepared after care
| full and laborious Investigations OF
| similar laws of nineteen states where
| taxes are imposed upon inheritances.
| Georgia" he said, has no
inheritance tax at present but the ex-
| perience of other states wherein there
are such laws Justifies the assertion
that such a measure would work won
derful results in raising large revenue
easily and without hardship on any
class. A tax on an inheritance is
| considered the easiest to pay, for it is
| a demand upon one for something that
| costs him nothing. 1t is not taA
| that makes a man go down into his
| pocket for money for which he has had
| to work
| I'm some of the states where there
are inheritance tax laws the tax is
graded in accordance with relationship,
| in some in accordance with amounts,
| and in some in accordance with both
| relationship and amounts. In some
| states tn enumber of cases of exemp-
ton are few, while in others they are
many The rates also vary widely,
so that the amounts that states derive
from the tax differ greatly. New
York, during 1900, however, derived
$4334, 903.27 from the tax. Illinois re-
ceived s44S, 931.57 during last year.
II have gone carefully over the ap-
praisals of estates in the Court of
Ordinary of Chatham county for 1900
and up to Oct. 1, 1901. and 1 have found
the average to be $2S0,000 a month, or
SO, 5000 900 a year. If the appraisals for
estates in Chatham county bear and
equal proportion with tax returns to
those of other counties it may be esti-
mated that the eastern appraised S
mated that the estates appraised each
year in Georgia amount to 1000, 000
An inheritance tax of one per cent
would yield $500, 000 One per cent. is
the lowest tax provided for in the bill
The rate runs as high as per cent
in case of strangers to the blood. If the
law should pass in its present form, ii
would mean an increase of easily more
than 100000 a year in the states rev.
enues.
I'm nearly every state where they
have been passed inheritance laws have
been contested as unconstitutional or
various grounds. The supreme courts
of large majority of such courts
have held the laws to be constitutional
whether based upon relationship
amount or both. The bill avoids feat
ures that have been held unconstitu-
tional by any of the courts.
1.-The present law of Georgia deter
mines the rules of descent and inheri-
lance according to the relationship to
the deceased, and it is clear that the
shall inherit can likewise determine
the terms and conditions on which the
inheritance shall take place. This bill
If passed, will prove a happy solution
of the difficulty arising over the deficit
in the states finances at present, and
should Furthermore make it an easy
matter to offer to all the taxpayers OF
the state a considerable reduction ir
the rate of taxation on real and per.
sonal property.