The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1909-01-08
The Tax Commits siOn'S Report
and ReCOmmr 'dafiOnS.

| aud NO(Ohhm teshOHo'
The first repor ne Legislature
of the State Tax Immission, post
dated January Ia, has been gwen
out In advance for the benefit of
members at their homes. 1t Will
repay careful perusal and study
not only by them but by all persons
in Kansas concerned in taxes, and
that embraces all taxpayers-not
merely those taxpayers who pay
taxes directly to the county treas
urcts. There are indirecttaxpayers,
and they pay taxes 365 days in the
year. Tae general subject of tax
ation is of as vital concern to them
as to those taxpayers who take large
tax receipts fl c;al of the
State.
The Capital has just received the
report and recommendations Of the
Tax Commission and we intend TO
do it what justice we can In detail
in the future. Valuable statistical
information involving a great dea
of work apart from the immediate
work OF the commission in supervis
ing the new law and its first years
operation is supplied by this report,
such as tabulated statement of the
precise proportion of the total taxes,
state, county, city, township and
school district, paid by laads, city
realestate, peraenal property and
public service corporations every
year since 1862, as well as estimates
of the true value of different classe
of property and of the personal
property still escaping assessment
and taxation in spite of the new law.
The relation of personal property
to ths subject of taxation is of
course the one overshodowing prob
lem in taxation here and every
where, and it takes up the greater
part of the report of the commission
in Kansas, as it does in other states.
The commission gives partial di-
gest of the opinions of commissions
and economists over the county on
the personal property question. Fo.
Kansas it makes an estimate based
on comparisons with former assess
ments and the experience this last
year of the amount of personal
property that escapes the assessor
under the new law, and finds that
approximately one-half OF personal
property is not on the rolls and pays
no taxes. So that, while a great
deal has been done to equalize
taxation by the law of two years
ago, it still remains true that per
sooal property evades the assessor
to very great extent; and 1t follows
that the proportion of personal
property which is assessed, to the
extent that it is assessed al its true
value, is more unjustly treated, with
relation to personal property which
escapes, than before the law was
enacted. The ore inescapable
weakness of the personal property
TAX is the fact that in tina end it
rests with the owner to give in or
Withhold his personal property of an
intangible character, and tits mainly
this intangible property that re-
mains out.
The State Tax Commission recon-
mends as preliminary to meeting
the problems of the personal proper
ty tax an amendment of the Consti-
tuition that will enable the Legisla-
tgre to classify property for purposes
of taxation. 1t also recommends |
some separation of Stale aud local |
sources of revenue, there being now
one common pool, the general as
sessment, into which the State dips
its hand for portion and the SUBJ
divisions of the State taking their
portions, excepting that
the State does raise about half