The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-03-11
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Proposed Changes Which Are to BE
Voted On in November

Proposed Changes Which Are to BE
Voted On in November.
Most important of all the results of the
session is the bill for Institutional
amendments, adopted yesterday. This re-
.. qu1res submission to the people, and un-
less it carries a majority of all the votes
cast, the labor will be lost.
The evolution of this amendment lasted
through the entire session. The tax COM
mission submitted to the legislature four
sections, as substitutes for the first four
sections Of Article 8. They were decided
| ly Of the wide open" variety, giving to
! the legislature the widest latitude in mat
tiers of taxation. They were a step fur
Their in advance than the people were pre-
| pared for: Three other bills were intro
duced in the house. and all were referred
! to the judiciary committee. A majority
Of this committee held to the t'restricted''
policy, and drew an amendment on that
| line. The minority carried the fight on
| the floor and won. The house adopted
| an amendment drawn by Mr.. Roberts, alb
| sOlutely wide open.
Meanwhile the senate judiciary COM
mittee had also drawn a restrictive
! amendment, and instead Of passing the
house bill, the senate passed it's own and
asked for conference. Two Of the five
conferees in the house favored the re-
strictive plan, and the result Of the con-
ference was the senate amendment with
a few changes. Concessions were made
to the wide open" partfzans, but they
were not enough. They only permitted
an income tax on salaries and incomes
from credits, and James A. Peterson of
| Hennepin stood out for provision per-
hitting the income tax on all personal
property. The house refused to concur,
and the conference committees, reap
pointed, adopted Mr. Peterson's ideas.
|
ton of public service corporations, leav-
ing the legislature wide open" to i'm
pose it in three different ways. 1t could
either be a direct tax on the franchise
or a gros searnings tax, but this latter
could be levied in two different ways,
| either In lieu of the tax on the franchise
alone or in lieu of the tax on the fran
chise and on the personal property. This
, was not satisfactory to the corporations
who insisted that the gross earnings tax
should be- perforce, in lieu Of all but
their real estate tax. Senator Horton
, their fight, but was turned down, and
, the senate concurred in the bill by a
. vote of 3S to 20, which is given elsewhere.
The new section Is designed to replace
the first three sections Of Article g. It
speaks for itself. AS finally adopted by
both houses it reads as follows:
Section 1.-The power Of taxation shall neve.
be surrendered suspended or CONTRACTED
annual tax sufficient to defray the estimated
ordinary expenses of the state for each year
? and whenever it shall happen that such
. ! ordinary expenses Of the state for any veal
I shall exceed the income of the state for suct
{ year, the legislature shall at its next ses
. sion, provide for levying tax sufficient tt
pay such deficiency. And whenever the in
J come of the state from other sources shall
: be sufficient to defray all OF its ordinary ex
: penses without the levy of any annual stat,
y tax, such tax levy shall be omitted
e May EquaIize by Counties.
o All taxes to be raised in this state shall b.
q as nearly equal as may be, and shall b.
levied and collected for public purposes only
and all property on which taxes are to b.
levied, except as. herein otherwise provided
shall have a. cash valuation, and shall b.
q 4 equalized and uniform throughout the state
! provided, that whenever the levy of tax TO
state purposes is omitted as above provided
the taxes LEVIED for local purposes shall b.
upon a valuation of the property within tn
y several counties and thes subdivisions there
e of, ss which shall be equaized and uniform
: throughout each county.
\. Special Assessments.
A The legislature may by general or specia
3 law, authorize municipal corporations to lev
;. assessments for local improvements upon tn
~ property fronting upon such improvements
Il or upon the property benefited thereby, o
n both, without regard to cash valuation Il
a. such manner IS the legislature may prescribe
Three Options for Franchise Tax
There may be levied and collected an an
nual tax upon franchises granted by publ
IL authority, In addition to the tax ON the res
: property and other personal property Of til
= person or corporation holding such franchis
10 or in lieu of the tax on such franchise, or
lieu of the tax on such franchise and til
personal property used in connection with til
same there may be imposed such tax upo
lel the gross earnings of the person or corpars