The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-17
MERCHANTS KICK ON CODE PROVISION Provides for License Tax on
 Gross Income PREPARE TO ACT AT ONCE Informal Meeting of Board of Trade Condemns Provision and Author
 izes Member to Go to
 Montgomery.
PREPARE TO ACT AT ONCE

The merchants of Birmingham are taking a stab at section 97 of the municipal code bill. The rest of the bill satifes most of them, but this section has them up in arms.
 An informal meeting of the Board of Trade was held yesterday afternoon for the purpose of discussing 1t, and as d result John W. O'Neill was delegated to go to Montgomery yesterday after noon for the purpose of having this section of the bill changed. If he finds any difficulty in having 1t changed a large delegation of the merchants here will go down to assist him.
 The merchants claim that the passage of this section would be a great injus- tice to them as it would force them to make public the status of their busi- ness, and then put an additional tax upon them according to their gross receipts. They claim to be already overtaxed and say that the making of sworn statements of their entire busi- ness to be subjected to public scrutiny would result In untold damage to q great number of the merchants throughout the state.
 Section 97 which is so thoroughly dis approved is as follows:
 The Objectionable Section.
 "To license any exhibition, trade, bus mess vocation. occupation or profess sion not prohibited by the constitution of the laws of the state, which may be engaged in or carried on in the city or town; to fix the amount of licenses, the time for which they are to run not exceeding one year, and provide a pen alty for doing business without a license. and to charge fee of not exceeding 30 cents for issuing each license to require sworn statements as to the amount of capital invested, or value of goods or stocks, or amounts of sales or receipts where the amount of the license Is made to depend upon the amount of capital invested. or value of goods or stocks or amount of sales or receipts. and to punish any person or corporation for failure or re- fusal to furnish sworn statements, or for giving of false statements in re- lation thereto. The license herein au- thoriZed as to persons. firms or cor porations engaged in business, in con nection with the interstate commerce shall be confined to that portion with in the limits of the state, and where such person, firm or corporation has an office or transacts business in the city or town imposing the license."
 Were Untold Hardshps.
 MT. Sol Caheen of Caheen Bros, in dis cussing this matter yesterday afternoon. said:
 The passage of such a bill would work untold hardship upon the merchants Un- der it we could be taxed upon the gross receipts of our business, and the matter of having to furnish sworn statements as to the condition of the business would be very unfair and would result In great in- jury to quite a number of merchants. am opposed to it's passage, and every other merchant in Birmingham is also. If MT. O'Neiif finds any difficulty In having this section cut out of the Dill q large number of our merchants will go to Mont gomery and see what can be done"
 J. D. Moore, of the Moore & Handley Hardware company, when asked his opin- ion of this section, said:
 While I have rot studied this partic- lilar section of the municipal code bill, still l am very much opposed to the pass age of any bill which will compel the merchants and other concerns to make a sworn statement as to their business and that will also allow them to be taxed on the gross receipts of their business"
 Already overtaxed.
 Charles E. Thomas of the Wimberly & Thomas Hardware company expressed himself as follows in regard to this sec. tion:
 "A law compelling merchants to make sworn statements of their business and also assessing an additional tax upon them according to their gross receipts Is worse than unjust. The merchants of Bir- mingham now pay an advalorem tax. q merchants tax and a county tax. In our business we not only pay these three taxes, but license for our sash, door and blind department, one for lime, one for handling powder and several others. The merchants of Birmingham are already overtaxed. It would be unreasonable and unjust to compel a merchant to make public the standing of his business. And then. whenever a church or other public institution is to be built, or any other kind of public enterprise is undertaken the merchants are always the first ones called upon to bear the expense. The legislature should take all of these matters into con sideration, and I for one will do every thing In my power to defeat the passage of such a bill''
 Merchants Should Act Now.
 George McCleery of Kress & Co. and vice president of tho board of trade, gave out the following in regard to this sec ton:
 '"Fhe section of the municipal code deal. ing with the merchants taxes is a serious one and would affect every merchant in the state of Alabama. The already over. taxed merchants of Birmingham, wlo now pay two city taxes and one county would be called upon to pay an amount out of all proportion to general taxation It would be unjust, unreasonable and nm fair Reaides the incroasa of faxaa aps