The Hawaiian gazette., 1907-03-12

knock from the hands OF the eoinmi,'
tee Saturday. Tho bill was for tho
exemption Of fifteen hundred dollars
income instead Of thousand as now
provided.
Your Committee on ways and Means,
to which was referred House Bill No.
So. entitled AN Act to Amend Section
1878 OF the Revised Laws of Hawaii
Relating 10 Income Tax as Amended by
Act 81 of the Session Laws OF 1906"
begs leave to report as follows;
Your committee has given the bill
Its full consideration and finds that the
amendment to Section 1878 OF the Re-
vIsed Laws Of Hawaii provided in this
bill. far from securing the poor man
any benefits, will work an injustice to
the community, in that 1t will relieve a
class of taxpayers OF contribution to
the public purse that your committee
feels is fairly and justly imposed, and
a class that would otherwise escape
it's just share of the burden OF taxa
ton. A person in receipt Of an in
come OF $500 per annum surely can
not be classed as a poor man, and by
the present law is only assessed 2 per
cent on his income over $1,000. or, say,
$40. Many is the young professional
man who rents his house furnished,
and also rents his office. possibly owns
! an automobile. earns from $1,000 to
$4,000 annually by his profession. and
only pays the Territory a property tax
upon the value of his automobile, less
5000 exemption allowed by law. Con-
trast this case with the poor working
man with a family, who earns from
So to IS a day, pays 2 per cent tax
on all income over $1,000. but owns a
lot and furnished house worth from
$500 to $1,000 upon which he is assessed
property taxes to the full value of the
property less the $500 allowed by law,
and it will not be difficult to see in
whose interest the amendment to the
present law will work. Designed with
out doubt to aid the poor man. 1t would
only prove a boon to his more FORUM
ate brother who would further escape
a burden now easy for him to bear.
Furthermore. it is the opinion of your
committee that no hardship exists in
the imposition of the present income
tax law, and the Territory can i'll af-
ford the loss of revenue at the present
time that would be entailed by the
passage of this bill, and 1t therefore
recommends it's indefinite postpone
ment.
Senator Smith supported the report,
saying the income tax was the fairest
that could be imposed. There are peo-
pie here, he said, who get good sal
aries but who have no property upon
which to levy taxes, so they get off
with the payment of poll tax. 1t was
to reach this class that the tax is i'm
posed.
Senator Chillingworth took the other
side and cited the case of the con-
ductors and motormen on the tramways
He thought that with the high cost of
living here and the difficulty met by
men of small salaries to save money,
the exemption should be not less than
fifteen hundred dollars.
Senator Dowsett opposed the bill and
supported the committee. His com
parison between the well-to-do clerk !
drawing fifteen hundred dollars year
and the poor laborers getting from two
to five dollars day was little off,
for the reason that the poor laborer
who gets five dollars day has bet
ter income than the fifteen hundred |
dollar clerk.
There may be change in the custom
now but in the days of the late Judge
Estee the income of the federal en-
ployes in this Territory was not taxed.
If that is true today Senator Dowsett
will see that the best paid employees
in the Government, men who have all
of their interests here in the Territory,
pay nothing toward the expense of the
Government.
Senator Smith from the Judiciary |
committee reported on House Bill No.
CD, relating to elections as follows:
The Jud lciary committee have mad
under consideration House Bill No. So. |
entitled IAN Act to Amend Section IS
of the Revised Laws of Hawaii relat-
ing to Elections" and recommends the |
passage of the bill,
The first paragraph of Section 65 of
the Revised Laws provides that the in
spectors of election shall provide not |
more than three voting shelves or com
partments at each polling place, in
which voters may conveniently mark
their ballots. The bill under consid-
GRAFTON amends the first paragraph of
the section by providing that there
may be more than three voting shelves
or compartments at each polling place.
The discretion given by the proposed
seems desirable and If
adopted will be an improvement over
the existing law.
Action ON Senate Bill No. 10 was
deferred. This refers to the appoint
ment of school directors in each coun-
ty. Senator Coelho moved that con
sideration be deferred until Thursday,
as information is, expected from the
outside districts.
Senate Bill 27-making $3.50 day
the minimum pay for Government la
to tinkering, remains
9 but a shadow of its former self - The