The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1908-08-28
Difficult TO Find a Perfect Sys.
TEN, Says Mcvsy; Visited
Many Capitals.
How Revenues Are Derived In
Eastern Commonwealth;
Ideas Obtained.

st. Paul, Aug. 25.-Minnesota is
not the only state that has one sys-
tenn of taxation outlined on its sta
tute books and another in practice.
Members of the state tax commission,
who have just returned from tour
of three weeks among the capitals of
the principal eastern states, say that
this same condition obtains in all states
they visited.
The party included the three men,
bers of the commission, DR.. F. L. Me.
Vey, Samuel Lord, and Judge o. NJ.
Hall, who covered 6,400 miles in the
course of their trip. They visited Lam
sing, Mich; Toronto, Montreal, Al
bany, N. Y; New York city, Wash
ington, D. c.; Annapolis, Nd: Harris
burg, Pa; Boston, Hartford, Conn;
and Philadelphia.
mo state that we visited has a
perfect system of taxation" said DIR.
McVey today, "but every one of the
states has features of its system that
are worthy of careful study and that
mark it as distinct from the others.
In every state we found that there is
variation from the actual law in
the practice of taxation"
Studied Taxation.
DR.. McVey says that the trip was
chiefly for the purpose of enabling
the members of the board to study
taxation in general way and does
not believe that any of the plans
seen in practice in the other states
viii be adopted in Minnesota. So far
as his board is concerned, it could only
recommend changes to. the legislature.
One of the most unusual plans Of
taxation was found in Toronto, where
a business house is assessed on the
basis of the value of building and land
which it occupies without regard to the
value of its stock of goods. The as
sessed valuation of the business is
placed at about so per cent of the
value of the building and land occu-
pied by the firm.
The business tax is supplemented by
an income tax on the professions and
occupations. BY the Toronto plan
every person, no matter what his oc-
cupation, must pay an assessment on
his income. In Ontario there is no tax
for maintenance of the provincial gov
eminent. The revenue for that purpose
is derived from fees received in sales
of land and inheritance taxes and other
levies paid by the provincial govern
ment direct.
The commission found that all the
eastern states receive from ten to
twenty times as much from Inheritance
tax as Minnesota. In Minnesota the
income from this source is not more
than $4,000, while in New York and
it is from 100000 TO
81, 100000.
How Revenues Are Obtained.
Pennsylvania obtains large revenue
by taxing securities. and business. That
state imposes an. indebtedness tax on
all bonds issued by corporations,
amounting to four mills upon the face
value of the bond. This tax is only in
force, however, against indebtedness
held by residents of the, state, and the
are allowed a discount of
per cent for collecting the tax, There
IS also tax of five mills on the ac-
tnal value of shares of stock in COR
porations. The public utility corpora
tons pay tax of eight mills on their
gross earnings in lieu of all other taxa
ton of corporations by the state. This
does not include their local taxes on
real estate.
All the eastern states derive some
income from the liquor traffic. In
most cases this is in the forms of :
state license, in addition to local IL
cense.
DR.. McVey says that the Minnesota
commission found that by comparison
the taxation laws of this state are
simple, although it is generally agreed
that they MIGHT ha imnrovAd