The Democrat-sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1906-1935, 1907-05-30


From a paper by h. NJ. Thresher of
the Dayton Chamber of Commrce:
There is Il Just and widespread dissat-
isfactiou with tie system of taxation in
force under the present constitution, as
being Inadequate and inefficient,
However well II may have been adapt
ed to existing conditions when it was
adopted. it has utterly failed to meet the
changing conditions which time has
brought, and it has become thoroughly
discretlited.
An attempt to patch it up by any
other than radical changes win be only
to invite failure and retard the wheels
OF progress.
No person well informed as to existing
conditions will claim that the invest
ments in real estate owned by the citi-
zens OF Ohio are taxed By uniform rule
at their full value in money.
AS for their investments i'm personal
property, they are for the most part, not
taxed at all. because they are not pro-
duced and when taxed at all, II is by a
very different rule from that which oh
tains in the ease of real estate Taken
together, they fail to secure the returns
which they ought to yield and tend to
oppress the honest man who tries to obey
the Law, while granting immunity to the
dishonest man who tries to evade It,
of the taxing power under the form of
fees and licenses is raising large sums of
money in way not contemplated when
the constitution was adopted. The ten
dency OF which il TO bring the constitu-
tion itself iaio discredit.
The essence of the difficulty seems to
lie in the attempt to make the constitu-
tion deal with details rather than with
principles.
The proper remedy, In Dy judgment,
ls only 10 he found in an amendment OF
the constitution which shall give to the
general assembly power 10 classify all
proper subjects for taxation in such
manner that
No subject shall escape its proper
share Of The burden.
No subject Of the same class shall
be taxed mere than once
This tax shull in all eases he uni
form to subjects Of the same class
and Just to the subject taxed
In ny humble Judgment it is only In
some sch way as this that the present
inequaliti-s ana injustice of our present
system o. ta&ation can find a proper
remedy and orler be restored out of the
existing chgos
From The address of ~. b. Willard
OF the Ironton Board Of Trade
The principal ground of complaint
that | hear Is the taxation of corpora
tions under the Willis law.
"Anothe' serious complaint is
against the tax on the interests in
foreign corporations"
From the address of Geo r. Spahr |
of the Columbus Board of Trade:
can not presume, although sent as a |
= of the Board of Trade to |
repre- sent the views Of that entire body; |
for we found, al . taxation meeting we |
held, that re looked at the subject OF
taxation from all points Of the compass
For myself. / tank our only safety is /
in shaping matters so that we may have
IL. l think the ideal of most every one
that studies the subject long, land tax
In the end tat land and privileges should
bear all our taxes That no taxes or no
penalties should be placed on the product
Of industry or the interest of capital
but that all taxes should be placed upon
the things that man does not create.
think the appeal (for a constitutional
amendmenD must come from the pecAe.
think We need the campaign OF edTa-
ton that the State Board OF Commerce
3 now carr wing on through the state.
The farmers are at last waking up 10
he fact ths' theirs is the only interest
hat Is paylgg Their fun personal tax,
hey and the widows ana orphans IA the
probate court