The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-02-08

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lature on this subject. When the
members of the committee visit us
they will be supplied with all
necessary information to prove the
injustice and ruin that would be
caused by depriving the cities and
school districts of the revenue that
goes to the support of the local
governments. It can and will be
demonstrated to them that it would
be gross injustice to these localities
to appropriate these taxes to the
state treasury and leave the other
property to bear the burden of sup
porting the schools and local in.
A clear conception of the danger
that confronts the range communi-
ties may be gained by perusal of
the following. remarks made by
Snpt. Bliss at the meeting:
TONNAGE TAX ON IRON ORE.
At the last general election the
people voted on and carried d tax
to the state constitu.
ton. This was the first step toward
changing the method of taxing iron
ore, the aim being to levy tonnage
tax which revenue should be paid
into the state treasury, and
also it possible to leave undisturb-
ed the present system of taxing the
ore in the ground as real estate, for
the support of local public institu-
tions. The second step in this
scheme appears in the recent intro.
duction into the legislature of sew
eral.bills the purport of which is
levying, of tonnage tax of five
cents q ton on every ton of ore taken
from the mines, the entire amount
thus raised to be paid into the state
treasury.
I am called upon to briefly ex-
plain the effect this new mode of
tonnage tax on iron ore would have
on the school revenues. provided
the proposed bill goes into effect,
and The power of levying local taxes
on thesore in the ground, is taken
froiafthe several localities on the
range
ii eksourcee. of revenue ssof-any
pub blic5school district IN Minnesota
are mainly from the general school
fund, the state one mill tax, the
county one mill tax and the local
tax ontall the personal property and
real estate in the district.
Of these different sources of reve-
nue. the local tax supplies by far
the GREATER amount. Here in our
own d tstrict of Virginia, District a.,
it requires this school year about
running expenses; this
does not include the amounts re-
quired for erecting new buildings.
Of this 100000, $4,000 is raised by
local tax, the permanent school
fund, state one mill tax, and county
one mill tax supplying the balance.
Of this $4,000 local tax paid for
the support of the schools of our
district, the mining companies pay
IS percent or $4O,SOO and we, the Cit
liens, ,son our real estate and per.
sonal property pay Is per cent, or
$780, That is, the companies pay
in round numbers about six times
as much as all the citizens put to-
gether toward the running expenses
of the schools in District No. %.
Now if we, the citizens, were oblig-
ed to pay all of this local tax of
which the mining companies under
the present system of taxation pay
50 per cent, it would raise our tax on
real and personal property six
times what it is now. The man who
now pays $40 would be obliged to
pay SEQ, he who now pays $40 would
pay 3120, and he who now pays $50
would have to pay $500 and 80 on up.
This, mind you, is only for running
expenses. .:>
There is another important item
which I have not figured in, and
that gis our bonded indebtedness.
Having faith and business trust in
the steadfastness Of things as they
are, we have built new school houses
for the present and the future. The
bonded indebtedness of our district
is about 500, 600. These bonds must
be paid. The property of the dis
trict is good for this debt. If the
iron=ore is taxed by the ton, after it
is mined, instead of as real estate
in the ground, as is the present sys-
tenn, the taxable property for a num-
Der Of years would be obliged to
carry a burden ten times as great
as at present. In other words the
man who now pays $40 tax would
then have. to pay 500. The ma n
who now pays $40 would then pay
$500, and so on. This would be 50