St. Paul tidende. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1902-1928, 1908-10-30

true ValOe OF Such property, IT snail po
competent for the legislature In either
or all such cases. to impose such tax
upo any or all property thereof within
this state, and in either case by taking
as the basis of such imposition the pro-
portfonate 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 ~ aforesaid:
or in such other manner, or by SUCH
other method as the legislature may de-
termine; but the proceeds Of such taxes
upo mining property h be Distributed
between the state and the various poit-
zeal subdivisions thereof wherein the
same il 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 by
any such corporation, person, firm or
company except in the manner PROVIDED
by the ordinary Methods of tax tion,'
and to substitute therefor the following:
'Sec /. The power of taxation shall
never be surrendered, suspended or con-
tracted away. Taxes shall be uniform
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
semiHaries Of learning. all churches,
church property used for religious pur-
poses, INC houses of worship. institutions
Of purely public charity. and public
a~A~a~%Sy S,~n5 4-oI,,$1ol.v <@v ~ nNYh(f6
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 inn
provements upon property benefited
thereby without regard to a cash valua-
ton, and nothing herein contained snail
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 IL
now pending in the courts and 1t was on
that account that the legislature decided
to re- submit the amendment to the peo-
Pile, so that however the contest may be
decided, the next legislature may have
the power granted by the amendment
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
power of the legislature with reference
to the subject of taxation. Section one
(1) as it now stands provides that all
taxes imposed shall be equaI-as near as
may be-on all forms of property, and al!
property upon which a tax is imposed 10
required to v a CASH VALUATION
equalized 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.
vIdes that all real and personal property,
including. MONEYS, CREDITS and IN
vESTMENTS IN BONDS AND STOCKS,
shall be assessed according to their true
value in money.
Section four (4) as It now stands pro-
vIdes that property employed in banking
shall be subject to a tax equa! to that
ttIPVoSN VII VSuS PIVPSIIys "lS u ouSy
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
therein enumerated, so thar a gross earn.
inss tax could be applied thereto instead
of direct taxation.
Owing to the provisions of sections one
0) n 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
X authorized by said section seven
teen (17).
also provided for, but as these exemp-
tlons 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
10 tlOSSSoaIy " duIlOTlZC Liz
Imposition of the taxes necessary for the
support Of the state and its various poIit-
icaI subdivisions. The power of taxation Is
Inherent In government. This proposed
amendment declares that this intercept
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 kin 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 Iimlta.
tfons 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
lngs 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 I'm.
pose inheritance taxes would be unIlmlt-
ed, and any form Of gross earnings tax
would be valid. The gross earnings tax
amendment, az 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.
tion 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.
lects Of taxation to have a cash valua-
tion with the tax equalIzed Throughout