The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1908-01-31

Continued from Page L.

tuition all Of sections l, 2, and 4
and insert in lieu thereof the follow
ing, to be known as section l:
Section 1.-The power of taxation
shall never be surrendered, suspend
ed or contracted away. Taxes shall
be uniform upon the same class of
subjects, and shall be levied and COL
lected for public purposes. The prop
erty of the United States and of the
state, counties, school districts and
other municipal corporations and per-
sOnal property to the amount of $500
for each head of family, liable to as
sessment and taxation under the pro-
visions OF the laws of this state of
which the individual is the actual
bona fide owner shall be exempt from
taxation"
Under the present constitution a
uniform and equal rate of assessment
and taxation is required on all prop
erty in the state, according to its va
lue in money.
Under the proposed amendment the
legislature could have one system of
taxation for real estate owned by indi-
viduals, another system for real es-
tate owned by corporations, another
for railroads, and other public-ser-
vice corporations, and still another,
for example, for notes, mortgages,
bonds and moneys.
The proposed constitutional amend
ment is advocated by the state tax
commission. Briefly, the argument
for 1t is this: That a number of other
states, notably New York and Wis
consin, have adopted this change, tax
ing them as they are taxed in this
state by assessment and levy. 1t is
claimed that by this plan friction is
eliminated and railroads and other
public service corporations are taxed
uniformly, while under the present
method they may be taxed on many
different bases by as many different
county assessors.
Commenting Upon the proposed
amendment, Ed D. Warner. deputy
assessor of Snohomish county, in a
letter to the Tribune of that city.
says:
What is meant by class Of sub
iects? By reference to the session
laws Of 1907, page 496, it viii be
seen tAat the state board Of equaliza-
non fos power to classify all proper
~, real and personal. and may raise
or tower the valuation Of any class
o. ropeT1y. The state board OF
equalization may therefore call i'm
proved farm lands Glass \; timber
lands, Glass B; town lots, Glass c.;
aud railroad property class D, but
ne matter how the property is CLASH
fled, under the constitution as it now
stands all of these various classes of
property must be assessed equally in
proportion to their value in money.
IT, however, the constitution is
changed to read, Taxes shall be uni
form upon the same class of sub
iects,' what is to prevent the state
board from saying that Glass \ shall
be assessed on a basis OF so per cent
of its actual value in money. Glass B,
so per cent, Glass c, 40 per cent. and
Glass d. % per cent,
Do the taxpayers of this state want
to give any body of men the power
10 say that one class of property shall
bear more or less of theb urden of
taxation than another class,
Prior to the ninth session of the
legislature the board of equalization
was composed of the secretary Of
state, the state auditor and the COM
missioner of public lands. The ninth
legislature created state board of
tax commissioners composed of three
members to be appointed by the gov
ernor and made the tax commission
ers. ex-officio members of the board
Of equalization.
During the tenth session 1Session
of 1900 the members of the state
tax commission were among the most
active and persistent lobbyists on the
ground and they did their work 50
we'll that they got a number of laws
passed very largely increasing their
/ powers. One Of these new laws chang