St. Paul tidende. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1902-1928, 1908-10-09

sssSss S2SssSEs ssssss ss8assss!ssas'S HsIss lsFssssSElEiIs EsssH
owners OF operators of1any ana all mines
or of mineral ores situated In this state;
also upon the property within this state
OF all companies or owners, and OF
all ship builders or owners doing business
in this state or having a port therein.
%(provided, 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 I'M
posed upon similar property In said 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
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-
p%ortionate 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
DdnloS, persons VI OWllSIS dS c4OI CodAOS
or in such other manner, or by such
other method as the legislature may de-
termine; but the proceeds of such taxes
mining property shall be distributed
between the state and the various pont-
fcal subdivisions thereof wherein the
same is situated, in the same proportion
as the proceeds of taxes npon 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, hrm OF
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
the same class of subjects. and
shall be levied and collected for public
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 n public
purpose, shall be exempt from taxation,
NAAo SASAO AHoy w SAShAPSSN
ton personal property not exceeding IN
value 5000 for each household, individual,
or head of a family, as the legislature
determine. But the legislature may
authorize municipal corporations to levy
and collect assessments for local I'M
upon property benehteo
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 x
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
rfed. But a contest was instituted by in
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
power Of the legislature with reference
to the subject Of taxation. Section one
() as it now stands provides that all
taxes imposed shall be equal-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
equaIized 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
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,
value in money.
Section four (4) as 1t now stands pro-
v!des that property employed in banking
be subject to a a equal to that
Imposed on other property. This is only
a repetition of the requirements of Sec
tions one 90 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
of sections one CD and three
(3), above quoted, property of the classes
therein enumerated, so THAI a gross earn
ings tax could be applied thereto instead
of direct taxation.
W e'S - y SIIS OIlV
~ 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
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-
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
is necessary to authorize the
imposition of the taxes necessary for the
of the state and it's various poIit-
icaI subdivisions. The power of taxation is
in government. This proposed
amendment declares that this inherent
power of taxation shall never be surren-
dered, suspended or contracted away;
taxes shall be imposed for public
purposes and shall be uniform on the
class of subjects. Should this
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.
every tax law we now have on the
statue books WouId continue to be valid,
under this amendment all Iimita-
on the power of the legislature
would be taken away.
The adoption of this amendment would,
as indicated, repeal the so-calIed inherit
ance tax amendment, and the gross earn
tax amendment adopted in 1896, as
in said Section seventeen (17),I
but in their place this amendment would
uiue the lericlafure oreafer >u%ho.;x.