St. Paul tidende. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1902-1928, 1908-10-23

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
panies, 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;
or in such other manner, or by such
other method as the legislature may de-
termine; but the proceeds of such taxes
upon mining property shall be distributed
etween the state and the various pont-
ical subdivisions thereof wherein the
same 10 situated, in the same proportion
as the proceeds of taxes upon real prop
erty are distributed: Provided further.
tina nothing III 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
and to substitute therefor the following:
"Sec. l. The power of taxation shall
never be surrendered, suspended or con-
IAoSNCu away SldA NC
upon the same class of subjects, and
shall be levied and collected for pubic
purposes, but public burying grounds,
public school houses, public hospitals.
academies, colleges, universities, and all
seminaries of learning. all churches,
church property used for religious pur-
poses, and houses of worship, institutions
of purely public charity, and public
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 a 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 a 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 | will assume that the
same amendment submitted at the last
election, did not carry.
The purpose and effect of this amend
ment would be to greatly enlarge the
to the subject of taxation. Section one
C) 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 70
required to have a CASH VALUATION
equaIized throughout the state.
Section two (2) as 1t 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 it now stands pro-
vIdes that all real and personal property,
including MONEYS, CREDITS and I'M
VESTMENTS IN BONDS AND STOCKS,
value in money.
vldes that property employed in banking
shall be subject to a tax equal to that
imposed on other property. This is only
a repetition of the requirements of Sec
tions one (1) 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
(3), above quoted, property of the classes
therein enumerated, so that a gross earn
ings tax could be applied thereto instead
of direct taxation.
Owing to the provisions Of sections one
() and three (3) of the present Consti-
tuition many amendments were from time
to time added so as to permit taxes to be
imposed on specific kinds of property
otherwise than upon a cash valuation
equaIized throughout the state. We have
among these exceptions railroad gross
earnings 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-
tions are not changed by the proposed
amendment, | 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
SuPPOTI ! TIC SIdSe ana KS various pOIt.
icaI subdivisions. The power of taxation is
inherent In government. This proposed
amendment declares that this Inherent
power of taxation shall never be surren-
dered, suspended or contracted away;
that taxes shalt 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 fit to adopt, provided
only that the tax was levied for a pub
lie purpose and was uniform on the same
class Of subjects. Under this amend
ment every tax law we now have on the
statue books would continue to be valid,
because under this amendment all Iimita.
tions on the power of the legislature
would be taken away.
The adoption Of this amendment would,
as Indicated, repeal the so-caIIed Inherit
ance tax amendment, and the gross earn
tngs tax amendment adopted in 1896, az
contained In said Section seventeen (17),
but in their place this amendment would
give the legislature greater authority.
Under this amendment the power to Inn
pose inheritance taxes would be unIlmit-
ed, and any form Of gross earnings tax
would be valid. The gross earnings tax
amendment, as the Constitution provides
that they cannot be changed without sub.
hitting the law making the change to a
vote Of the people. But with this amend.
ment various new forms Of taxation could
be imposed, notably an income tax, a ton.
mage tax on iron ore and a registry tax on
mortgages. Under the present constitu.
ton we can impose no tax on mortgages
owned by non-resldents. A registry tax,
which would be valid under this amend
ment, would reach all mortgages alike.
While the Constitution requires all sub.
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