The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1908-10-12

owners or operators 81 any and all mines
or OF mineral ores situated in this state;
also upon the property within this state
OF all boom companies or owners, and OF
all ship builders or owners doing business
in this state or having port therein
Crowded that this act shall not apply
to property owned by railroad companies,
their lands and other property); and upon
the property Of either or any Of such
companies or Owners,-a tax as uniform
as reasonably may be with the taxes inn
posed upon similar property in sad state,
or upon the earnings thereof within this
state, but may be graded or progressive,
or both, and in providing for such tax, or
in providing for ascertaining the just and
true value Of such property, it shall be
competent for the legislature in either
or all such cases. to impose such tax
upon any or all property thereof within
this state and in either case by taking
as the basis of such imposition the pro-
pOrtiOnate business, earnings, mileage or
quantity Of production or property now
or hereafter existing Of any such COM
panleS, persons or owners, transacted or
existing in this state, in relation to the
entire business, mileage or quantity OF
production or property OF such COM
panies, persons or owners as aforesaid;
other method as the legislature may de-
termine; but the proceeds of such taxes
upon mining property shall be distributed
between the state and the various pollt-
ical subdivisions thereof wherein the
same is situated, in the same proportion
as the proceeds of taxes upon real prop
erty are distributed: Provided further,
that nothing in this act contained shall
operate to authorize the assessment or
taxation of any farm land or ordinary
business blocks or property owned py
any such corporation, person, firm or
company except in the manner provided
by the ordinary methods of taxation" p.
and to substitute therefor the following:
"Sec. I. The power of taxation shall
never be surrendered suspended or con-
tracted away. Taxes shall be uniform
upon the same class of subjects, and
purposes, but public burying grounds,
public school houses, public hospitals,
academies, colleges, universities, and all
seminaries of learn ng, all churches,
church property used for religious pur-
poses, and houses of worship, institutions
of purely public charity, and pubic
property used exclusively for any public
purpose, shall be exempt from taxation
and there may be exempted from taxa
ton personal property not exceeding IN
value 5000 for each household individual
or head of a family, as the legislature
may determine. But the legislature may
authorize municipal corporations to levy
and collect assessments for local i'm
provements upon property benefited
thereby without regard to cash valua-
ton, and nothing herein contained shall
be construed to affect, modify or repeal
any existing law providing for the taxa
ton of the gross earnings of railroads.
This proposed constitutional amend
ment was submitted and voted upon at
the last election and was declared car
ried. But contest was instituted by in.
terested parties, claiming that the amend
ment was not carried. That contest is
now pending In the courts and it was on
that account that the legislature decided
to re-submit the amendment to the peo-
pie, so that however the contest may be
decided, the next legislature may have
the power granted by the amendment
For the purpose of discussing the effect
of the amendment l will assume that the
same amendment submitted at the last
election, did not carry. T.
The purpose and effect of this amend.
ment would be to greatly enlarge tho
power Of the legislature with reference
to the subject Of taxation. Section one
% as it now stands provides that all
taxes imposed shall be equaI-+as near as
may be-on all forms of property, and all
property upon which a tax is imposed Is
required to have a CASH VALUATION
equaized throughout the state.
Section two (2) as it now stands re.
quires the legislature to levy the neces-
sary taxes annually to defray the ex-
penses of the state. That is the duty Of
the legislature without any constitutional
direction.
Section three (3) as 1t now stands pro-
vldes that all real and personal property,
MONEYS, CREDITS and IN
IN BONDS AND STOCKS,
shall be assessed according to their true
value in money.
Section four ~ as 1t now stands pro-
vldes that property employed In banking
shall be subject to a tax equal to that
imposed on other property. This is only
tons one (D and three (3), as no rational
person would claim that banking capital
should be exempt from taxation.
Section seventeen (17) as it now stands
Is not easy to understand, but it was in.
tended by that section to relieve from the
operation of sections one % and three
~, above quoted, property Of the classes
therein enumerated, so that gross earn
ings tax could be applied thereto instead
Of direct taxation.
Owing to the provisions of sections one
% and three 49, of the present ConstI-
tuition many amendments were from time
to time added so as to permit taxes to DO
imposed on specific kinds of property
otherwise than upon a cash valuation
equalized. throughout the state. We have
among these exceptions railroad gross
taxes; municipal frontage taxes;
inheritance taxes; and the gross earnings
taxes authorized by said section seven
Teen (17).
Several exemptions from taxation are
also provided for, but as these exemp-
lions are not changed by the proposed
! will make no further ref
erence to them.
The amendment which, If adopted,
would take the place Of all of the sections
and amendments above referred to, is
simple and plain. No provision of the
Constitution is necessary to authorize the
imposition Of the taxes necessary for the
of the state and its various poIit-
cai subdivisions. The power Of taxation is
inherent in government. This proposed
declares that this inherent
power of taxation shall never be surren-
dered, suspended or contracted away;
that taxes shall be imposed for public
purposes and shall be uniform on the
same class OF subjects. Should this
amendment be adopted all property of
every kind in the state would be subject
to taxation, according to- the method the
legislature saw tit to adopt, provided
DnIy that the tax was levied for a pub
lie purpose and was uniform on the same
class OF subjects. Under this amend
m ent every tax Jaw we now have on the
statue books would continue to be valid,
because under this amendment all limIta-
lions on the power of the legislature
would be taken away. Fl
The adoption of this amendment would,