Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1907-04-08
Enacted at the Recent Session of the Wasino.
ton State Legislature
They Are Good Cash Producers Numerous
Measures.iWere Devised to Bring More
Money Into the State Treasury. Rec
ord of Session on Revenue
and Taxation.

come from the secretary of states
Office, insurance taxes and corpora-
/ ton fees and licenses, and from the
Office of the state land commission
err sales and leases of state lands,
etc. The secretary remitted month
ly, the first day of each month, for
previous months receipts; the land
commissioner remitted the tenth of
each month for the preceding
months collections. The grain in
spector RENTED monthly, as did the
superintendent of the penitentiary,
who sends in proceeds from sales
of jute fabrics and prison lrick,
and soTe other officials, such, for
instance, 9s former Oil Inspector ].
l.. Canutt, remitted collections
whenever they felt N the mood, and
that was about once in six months.
Sometimes these officials held in
the aggregate half nIliNn dollars
OF state money. Now this money
will come in daily and will go into
a depository bank to draw interest
for the state.
Reports of the railroad commits
sion and Investigations by the tax
commission showed long ago the
express and private car companies
were not paying their proper pro-
portion of state tax. Although the
railroads annually were paying pri-
vate car lines thousands OF dollars
for use of such cars within the
state, these car companies were
contributing not one cent of taxes.
The express companies were taxed
in the several counties only on tan
gible property, such as their office
fixtures, wagons and horses. The
gross assessed valuation of all ex-
press company property in the state
iHERALD-Gal 2 2 mbe.
die not aggregate what one COM
Ipany collected each year at Yakima
for express matter shipped wholly
within this state.
Two bills drawn by the tax COM
mission and introduced by Repre-
sentative Bassett of Adams, were
passed, which provide state tax of
Z per cent on express business and
= per cent on private car lines, and
also provides how that tax be levied
by the tax commission, so as to be
absolutely fair to the companies.
These two bills, it is estimated, will
bring in $4,000 annually.
! Insurance taxation has been in
creased approximately 100000 a
year. The bill, introduced by Rep
resentative Thompson Of Spokane,
would have doubled this increase,
but it was iobbed in the senate and
Governor Mead refused to sign 1t.
1t became law without his approval.
Under the bill fire insurance COM
panies pay 2A per cent, and as
jcbbed, fire companies pay 2 per
cent on met premiums collected"
instead of on "gross premiums"
These payments are to be made di-
rect to the state treasurer instead of
through the insurance department,
as now.
The insurance department had
for years been allowing insurance
companies certain exemptions from
tax. The legislature by resolution
authorized suit to be brought to
collect this unpaid amount, and If
the action Is successful it will bring
about 100000 to the state treas
ury.
| A big revenue producer Is the bill
introduced by Representative Lam
bert Of Whatcom, increasing origin
al filing fees of corporations from
SO to $25 flat, and increasing the
annual license from SO to SIS. In
the past no provision was made for
enforcing payment Of the annual
license. The new law cures that in
a way 1t will be we'll for all attor-
neys to note. The law provides that
no corporation may maintain a suit
in the courts Of the state until It
alleges and proves It has paid its
current license fee. Another provi-
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