Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-03-09

| lists today is Onc-fourth of one per cent
upon every $500 extra earning iiihi''" at
| fodr per cent When they earn su'iicic"'
to pay four per cent. of their gross trans
portation receipts under the present la"'
| then they stop paying above that rate.
That is, they pay only four per cent, It
| matters not whether they earn $1,000 or
$4,000 or $4,000 per mile. Now the more
they earn the more able they are TO pay.
As I drew this bill in the first instance
made the limit 20 per cent l think IL was
| lust. 1 do not think it is out of reason.
and I have carefully considered. nave
carefully figured and looked upon IL IN
almost every view, and in every view
could conceive OF as to its bearings upon
the road and its bearings upon the indi-
vidual i'm thn State and upon the owners
of the property. The committee on taNt-
ton had Il long hearing of about fivr
hours before which appeared practically
the entire railroad interest. | mlsht say
of the State of Maine fighting any chang"
in this Iaw-thcre was Il president ana
there were directors of the various roads
| with their hired attorneys who have been
here from the day this Legislature opened
| and who were the first men that came
into this House and who have been the
most constant in their attendance upon
this House, you might say that they are
members of this Legislature and have
been for many years. belonging to the
| third House-thosc men and the ATTORNEYS;
| for the railroads came before the com
nittce and they put forth every argument
| that they could to the committee as to
why the tax should not be Increased. And
l say to YOU. Mr.. Speaker and gentlemen
of the House, there was not one valid
reason given and not one claim made,
with one exception. hut what the roads
were amply able to pay the tax as pro-
posed, not one.
| cannot go over all these various
rolds, some 10 of them. cannot so in
to the details OF all of them. The roads
most affected in this State would be
the Canadian Pacific, the Maine Cen
The Boston & Maine. the Grand
| Trunk, the Maine Central and the
Portland & Rumford Falls roads are
the only ones that would pay more
| than 4 Der cent. The Boston & Maine
the Maine Central and the Portland &
| Rumford Falls under the law as it now
exists pay per cent. Your committee
| on taxation made Il minority and ma
jOrity report. The minority report was
| signed by two members of that COM
mittee. the majority report by six; and
| they amended the bill and cut down
| the limit from 10 per cent of the gross
| transportation receipts to 6 per cent
| While ] state to You that | believe the
bill was absolutely right as it was
drawn, yet 1 agreed that l would ac-
cept the report of the minority of that
| committee and present this matter tC
you on their report and ask this House
to accept the minority report. increas-
crease of gross transportation receipts
| per mile one fourth of one per cent
| Now, take the Boston a. Maine rail-
road. Their gross transportation earn
ipss per mile is S14.5S5. The rate upon
which they are taxed now is 4 per cent
lOt their gross transportation receipts
iii the State. Their tax us it now eN-
lists is $3l SIC. Their tax would be, if
You accept the minority report and this
bill should become Il law, their tax
would be 6 per cent upon their gross
transportation receipts within the bor-
'!erS OF Maine, and it would make their
tax $131, lI0.23, q gain or an increase III
their taxes OF $4J.923. 40.
Nov can they afford it: Is it right
OF is it Just that they should pay this
additional amount? The question fol
you to consider is. would it be just tc
! the EnGtnn a. H., 4 -
to have them pay into the State treas
ury of Maine additional taxes to the
amount of s4a00U? Let us see Accord
ing to their own report, and according
to this table as taken from their re-
port, under the proposed bill, adding
| the $4,000 to their tax, they will then
only pay one-fourth the rate of taxes
that they would pay if their property
| was assessed like yours and like mine
| Under the proposed bill, if it becomes
d law, if their property was taxed up
OIL its assessed value, the value that
| they return in their report to the treas
| urer of the State of Maine. they would
| then, with the advanced tax of $45, 900.
only pay One-fOurth of what you pay
| upon your farm and upon your stock
| Is there anything unjust in that? Is
| the Boston y Maine Railroad corpora
ton a corporation or institution that is
poor? Is it a corporation that is not as
able To pay taxes as you and | are able
| to pay taxes in our several localities ?
! What is their stock worth on the mar
ket today: one hundred and seventy
five dollars to one hundred and eighty
| dollars per share, the par value being
1890 What do they pay for dividends
| to their stockholders? Seven per cent.
annually on their common, and six On
| their preferred stock Now. | ask you
| Mr.. Speaker and Gentlemen, is there
any man here who OWNS any bank
IStcck i'll the State of Maine? If there
is one, you know what your rate Of tax
is in your respective towns or cities.
| You get about per cent. dividends OH
your bank stock. Perhaps some of YOU
get seven. But what is the rate of tax
alton on that bank stock? 1t is the
value OF that stock taxed at par, or a
| little above par, according to the rate
! that other property pays in your town;
and If You get per cent on Your bank
StOcn, you pay into your town treasury.
| every man of you who owns Il dollar Of
I ! l.& Il.