The Irish standard., 1908-10-31

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
production or property of such com
panfes, persons or owners as aforesaid;
or in such other manner, or by such
other method as the legislature may %.
termfne; but the proceeds OF such taxes
upon mining property shall be dlstrlputed
between the state and the various poIt-
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 SHAH
operate to authorize the assessment or
taxation Of any farm land or ordinary
business blocks or property owned by
any such corporation, person, Arm or
company except in the manner PROVIDED
by the ordinary methods Of taxation"
and to substitute therefor the following:
''sec. 1. 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 public
purposes. but public burying grounds,
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
and there may be exempted from taxa
tton 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
onta ~.
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
rled. But q contest was Instituted by In.
terested parties, claiming that the amend.
nent was not carried. That contest 10
now pending In the courts and It was on
that account that the legislature decided
to re-submlt the amendment to the peo-
pie, 90 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 I will assume that the
same amendment submitted at the last
election, did not carry.
Tho purpose and effect Of this amend.
n,ent would be to greatly enlarge tho
power Of the legislature with reference
to the subject Of taxation. Section one
90 as 1t now stands provides that all
may be-on all forms Of property, and all
property upon which tax is Imposed 70
required to have CASH VALUATION
equalIzed throughout the state.
quirss ii. legislature to levy levy theme the neees.
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 IN.
VESTMENTS IN BONDS AND STOCKS,
shall be assessed according to their true
value In money.
Section four (4) as j now stands pro-
v!des that property employed In banking
shalt be subject to a tax equal to that
Imposed on other property. This Is only
repetition Of the requirements Of Sec
tIons one ~ and three (3), as no rational
person would claim that banking capital
should be exempt from taxation.
Section seventeen (1D az It now stands
Is not easy to understand, but It was In
tended by that section to relieve from the
operation OF sections ono ~ and three
(3), above quoted, property Of the classes
therein enumerated, 80 that gross earn.
lnss tax could be applied thereto instead
Of direct taxation.
Owing to the provisions Of sections ono
c) and three (3) Of the present constl.
tuition many amendments were from time
to time added 90 as to permit taxes to be
Imposed on specific kinds Of property
otherwise than upon cash valuation
equallzed 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 UD.
Several exemptions from taxation are
tions are not changed by the proposed
amendment, ] will make no further ref.
erence to them.
The amendment which, II adopted,
would take the place Of all Of the sections
and amendments above referred to, Is
Constitution Is necessary to authorize the
Imposition OF the taxes necessary for the
support OF the state and It's various polIt.
lcal subdivisions. The power Of taxation is
Inherent In government. This proposed
amendment declares that this Inherent
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
amenomene be adopted all property OF
every kind In the state would be subject
to taxation, according to the method tho
legislature saw fit to adopt, provided
only that the tax was levied for 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 lIn1ita-
tlons on the power Of the legislature
would be taken away.
The adoption Of this amendment would.
az indicated, repeal the So called Inherit
ance tax amendment, and tho gross earn.
ings tax amendment adopted In 1896, as
contained In said Section seventeen i17),
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 unlIrlt.
ed, and any form Of gross earnings tax
would be valid. Tho gross earnings tax
on railroads would not be affected BY this
amendment, as the Constitution provdea
that they cannot be changed without sub.
mIttIn0 the law making the change to
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 registry tax on
mortuaQeS. Under the present cone%J%,.