The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-02-20
Georgia's Tax System.

| cial crisis which will soon necesstate | some sort of revision of her tax system. l The states expenses are growing every
 year more rapidly than her income. There 1 is no apparent way of curbing these ex- | penses and in order to meet them one of | two things is necessary, either the tax
 rate must be increased or more property must be brought onto the tax digests. Since the state tax rate is limited to ! | mills by the constitution, it would be a very difficult matter to secure an increase | as it would have to be passed by a two- l thirds vote of the legislature and then l by a majority vote of the people. | There has come up naturally therefore, 1 a revival of the discussion about a state
 board of tax equalizers together with county boards, with view to rounding up | all the property in the state, including l that which is escaping taxation and that which is paying only a small percentage of | it's value.
 The general opinion appears to be that 1 some such law as this must be enacted sooner or later, as it seems the most l feasible method for the relief of the state | treasury.
 Senator-elect w. F. Slater of the first 1 district, recently discussed the matter l along these lines with State Treasurer ] R. E. Park. MT Slater is of the opinion
 that something of this kind will have to | be done and he proposes to urge a law
 for the more equal distribution of taxa
 ton at the coming session of the general
 assembly,
 Such a law is not, of course, popular
 with many taxpayers. They think it will | result in their being forced to pay more
 taxes than at present. They find it diff
 f1cult to accept the theory that increased | returns means a lower rate consequent l ly no real increase in taxation.
 | TTndOllhtpd1V there ire millions of nrOD- | erty in Georgia not on the tax books and millions more which are paying only | on small percentage of actual value. | There are farm lands all over Georgia | which are returned at sometimes only | 10 to 20 per cent of the price at which
 they are held for sale. Large quantities
 of personal property, particularly stocks
 and bonds and cash in bank, notes and | the like, escape taxation altogether. 1 Stock in Foreign Corporation.
 Discussing the tax question today a 1 state official called attention to the fact
 that the state has never yet been able 1 to make anybody pay taxes on stock 1 held In foreign corporations except the Georgia Railroad and Banking company | which last year settled with the state a claim for back taxes on 15,000 shares of | the capital stock of the Western Rail- l way of Alabama which it held. There is
 litigation pending which seeks to make 1 the Central of Georgia pay taxes on a | like amount of the same stock.
 But up to date these are the only in
 stances in which the state has attempted
 to force the payment of taxes on for | eign stock held in Georgia, simply be-
 cause of the fact that it has not been 1 able to locate other such stock. | There is no question, however, that | stocks in corporations located in other | states are held extensively in Georgia. | But unless a schedule of persons prop | erty finds its way into the courts, there | is no present way of determining wheth- | CT he holds such property as this. | The courts have decided beyond all 1 doubt that stock in foreign corporations ! is taxable in Georgia, and 1t becomes, of | course the duty of those who own such property to return 1t. There are no known | cases, however, in which this has been | done.
 ] It would be the duty of enualizins