Arizona republican., 1903-01-20

| turned to the general fund when the interest fund will permit.
 This transfer of funds has arisen | from the fact that the interest on fund | ing bonds exchanged for Yavapai | county P. and A. C. railroad bonds had to be cared for, and the failure of Yav- apai county to levy a tax during the time the validity of said railroad bonds was being litigated; that litigation | having ended. Yavapai county is now in process of reimbursing this sum to ! the territory.
 The outstanding bonded indebtedness | drawing a higher rate of interest than | five per cent could easily be funded into l 50-year five per cent funding bonds, still, I should hardly deem this advisa- l ble in view of the high premium offered for 2O-year five per cent university bonds. I'should judge that these bonds ! when mature could be redeemed by the sale of 5O-year bonds at par. drawing a rate of interest as low as three per cent, or perhaps even lower. The latter method would be the business-like way of caring for these bonds should it not be advisable to pay them off at ma turity.
 TAXATION AND REVENUE. Investment of money by capitalists in the development of industries in all | new countries is retarded to a great ex- tent by the high rate of taxation which comes with the establishment of pub lie institutions, and other enterprises incident to the opening of a new coun- try to settlement, civilization and the | beneficent influences of a modern life
 The time is now ripe, I believe, In the history of Arizona. when the mat ter of the reduction of the rate of tax ation should be taken up by the legis- lature of the territory in a spirit of fairness, and ways and means devised by which the result so much to be de- sired may be realized.
 Great wealth has for many years been taken from the mines in this ter ritory and distributed as dividends in other sections of the world. Assess ments have been made of. and taxes levied on. the surface ground and re- duction plants at these mines: this has been done. apparently. without taking into consideration the value of the in- dividual property as a revenue pro- ducer
 I believe, in justice and fairness. that owners of producing mines in this ter ritory would willingly pay a tax on the output of their mines. such tax to be a just and proportionate one as compared with other territorial taxes, and to be applied, as other income from taxes are. to the support of the govern ment underwhose Jurisdiction their mining operations are conducted. and from whose territory their revenues are derived. Such a tax should be made so that in no sense would it become a detriment to the development of new mines and prospects.
 A tax such as this, imposed upon the output Of producing mines, would add materially to the revenue of the terri tory; would greatly reduce the rate of taxation. and would allay the feeling of those engaged in other pursuits than mining that they are bearing more than their share of the expense of maintain ing the government. under which they pursue their different vacations in an endeavor to better their condition.
 I most respectfully and earnestly rec Cmmend this subject of the taxation of the product of mines to your careful consideration
 
 legislature to the fact that our liberal corporation laws have been the means of bringing about the organiza tion in our territory of a large number of cor porations during the last several years. At least one of the states in the union which has not as liberal laws as our own in respect to the organiza ton Of corporations, is deriving sufficient rev enue from fees collected from corpora -tions organized within it's Jurisdiction to cover, or nearly so, the expense of the state government; therefore. there Is no reason why, with fair and just fee charged by our territory to the cor porctions which take advantage of our laws and organize in Arizona, sufficient revenue should not be derived by the territory to assist in defrayinC IS cur rent expenses.
 I earnestly recommend that the Ieeis- lature enact a law that will require all corporations organizing under our laws to file their articles of incorporation with the territorial auditor before they are permitted to do business. and that the auditor shall have the same recorded in the office of the secretary of the territory; and that reasonable fee for filing such articles with the auditor shall be established. and in addition thereto the amount necessary to cover the cost of recording such articles.
 l would also recommend that. when ever a corporation. by it's articles. is authorized to have its office or offices outside Of the territory. the territorial auditor shall be made the resident agent of said corporation, upon whom may be served all processes with like ei1ect as If served upon the proper ofncers of the corporation within the territory and that, for the services of the auditor as such agent. reasonable 1 yearly fee shall be charged to each of such corporations; that the moneys re- ceived by the auditor for filing the ar