The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-01-31
GEN, CHILDS ON The TAXBlLL
He Discusses the Measure in Detail Before the
State Bankers of Minnesota.

four years seemed the proper time So far
| as our past experience is concerned, the
! state had been the gamer II there had been
| no assessments made since 1880. The DEMENT'S
accruing to a particular section of the state
from biennial as against quadrennial as
sessments ara nearly counterbalanced by thH
! extra costs of the assessment. 1t Will be but
a few years before the valuation Of real
property throughout the state will become
| more or less fixed, fuctuating generally by
| force of natural and economic causes.
The Hard Nut to Crack.
| 1t is not real property which presents the
| many difficult problems of taxation, although
| it is not without them, but personal prop
erty. The commission labored under no de-
| fusion as to the difficulties besetting the tax
alton Of this class of property, 1t knew full
! we'll that any law which relies upon the
! voluntary listing Of property and is destitute
| of coercive provisions is, at best, poor,
| weak apology for law. The commission was
| we'll aware that anything it might do was
certain to raise a storm of criticism. The
! plucked bird would certainly squawll But it
had no discretion to exercise whether as to
| the listing or the assessment of property. Both
| the constitution and the law which gave the
commission being required the listing of all
property and it's assessment at it's true value
in money. -. ~
! Listing Under Oath.
In order to secure the listing of property,
| it is %of the utmost Importance that every
person be required to list under oath. or
provision made for the confscation of his
property The bill industriously seeks the
accomplishment of the first. There can be
no escape from it except by permanent flight
| from the state. The oath is searching and its
violation perjury. The: form Of oath, inter
! rogatories and list are taken almost I'M
| changed from the statutes of Indiana. If
there is any state where anything like salts
) faction is expressed with. the. operation OF
| its tax laws, 1t is Indiana rs "a .s.z
Perhaps some here may have read the
speech Of the late ex-President Harrison, de-
livered some years since at Chicago upon
| the subject of taxation. 1t was trumpet
blast to cali the wealth of the country to
| it's duty in shouldering it's part of the public
| burdens
The commission believed it to be downright
| dishonesty for a person to defraud the state
of the taxes which he owed 1t; that it was
| due to every taxpayer who was doing his own
duty In such regard that delnluents be pur-
| sued, their hidden treasures brought to light,
and they compelled by coercive measures TO
perform duty which all experience demon
strates they would otherwise sevade.
Corporations.
Title " of the bill relates to Corporations,
Companies and Associations. There is moth
! ing the existing law corresponding to this.
Banks will continue to be governed by the
| same provisions ley which they now gov
erned. 1t is true that the depositor will be
required to list moneys deposited by him; but
| the present law contemplates the same thing.
Great care was taken to provide suitably
| for the taxation of public service corpora
I tiors. Ordinary business corporations will be
treated the same as partnerships and in
1 dividuals.
/ Review of Assessments.
Title v. relates to the Review OF Assess
! ments." Here again we discover wide de-
1 parture from the existing law. The town
board Of review wholly disappears as a legal
entity. The county board of equalization be-
comes the county board Of review. 1t will
be authorized to cause any person to appear
as a witness before it, or cause any. company
to submit It's books and records for inspec-
ton. It lis also given power totredress griev-
ances of taxpayers, and they, are provided
| with = simple and inexpensive way Of secur-
ing hearing upon, any grievance. But the
bill has not only an eye for the rights Of the
taxpa yer, but for his duties as well. Not
! only may he appeal to the county board OF
review, ard thence Oh to the tax commission,
but any taxpayer is given the right to appeal
from the county board to the tax commission
with respect to the assessment Of another.
The State Board.
/. The state board of equalization, instead of
an unwieldy body Of eighteen members, will
be posed of the governor, auditor of state,
secretary of state, attorney general and the
three tax commissioners. Change in the per-
sonnet of the board was made for three rea-
sons: 81 To permit frequent meetings upon
short notice; 81 to overcome the effect OF
local influence upon the board, and (3) be
cause, under the scheme Of the bill there will
| be little work for purely equalizing board
to do. The commission hopes thus to mini
| rnize to the lowest degree the raising and
| lowering of assessments by percentages This
! will be accomplished by more rational as
sess1nent of property. It will have the power
| OF assessment. Any interest, great or small,
which has succeeded, either through down
right corruption or clever persuasion, IN pre-
venting a proper assessment Of its property
| will be required in the end to reckon with
! this board. Two functionaries, never before
known to the law Of this state, are contem-
!! plated by the bill, the one the tax commits
Fsion and the other the county supervisor OF
assessment The second is Intended to be
1.-the right hand Of the first. The terms Of tax
1 commissioners will be six years EACH so ar
1 ranged that one will retire every two wears
i They will be appointive, thus insuring an
opportunity for careful consideration in the
selection of the officers. tits not going too
4 fartto say that the tax commission will he
second In Importance to no other. functionary
In the state; for upon its wisdom will de-
pend in greatest measure the success of fall
/ ure Of the bill, if it become law.
Powers of the Commission.
The powers of the commission are as great
j as the wit OF the commission could make
| them. It Is to be the central, directing force
| in the whole scheme, all else being but the
machinery with which 1t will perform the
| great task of assessing the property Of the
state. IS,
Tax commissions have long existed in other
states and have proven wise and efficient
4 Observation-Disclosures i shall not pause to dwell
upon the work Of the county supervisor 1t
i may be interesting to note that Wisconsin.
at the last session Of its legislature, provided
Il for similar officer. E q
Collection OF Taxes.
y Title TX regulates the collection Of taxes.