The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-03-09

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alder" He believed ii would bo5 d
means OF reducing taxes.
an objection was raised by Mr.. Yar-
reli to the bill because Some sections
of tile State would not be adequately
represented.
Mr.. Byrd tMr. Cooke In the chair)
said tia ~ commission was necessary
becatise no General Assembly could in
sixty days. or even IN ninety. reform
or even approach a reform OF the tax
system. Tho tax laws OF Virginia, he
asserted. are an anomaly. For In
stance. home corporations orc assessed
with n franchise tax. while foreign
corporations are not. There are many
deficiencies and inequalities In the
present system. This commission
would not assess property, but IT
would suggest methods. Az to the
composition OF the body that was a
matter Of detail.
Should confront Issue.
Mr.. 'Taliaferro believed the House
had voted under a misconccption. iFfe
wanted the state to face the issie of
providing a better tax system. There
was no "nigger In this woodpilesr
Mr.. White objected to the Iegisla-
5ttrc appointing a commission COM
posed Of representatives OF the eSccu-
tive, judicial and Legislative DEPART
ments OF the State government. Such
. commission should be appointed by
the Governor. to be composed of three
business men. He thought the House
had voted i~ntclifgentlY.
Beyond all question, said Mr.. Rell.
this was a necessary measure. Tho
present system was a ~travcsty on
justice.
Attention was called by Mr.. Cooke
to the fact that this commission could
not pass any Law nor assess any prop
erty. but would report to the next
Legislature. 1t would. he believed, cX-
pedite the business of the next ses-,
sion.
Mr.. McI,ae approved OF the amend
ments. and would vote for the bill.
Mr.. Houston would vote for IT. be-
cause HIS people wanted 1t. II y
would cost $4,000 instead OF $4,000
they would indorsc his support of 1t:
He did not think the State could spend
this sum to better advantage.
The House agreed to the reconsider
alton and passed the bill by a vote OF
i5e to 81.
Mr.. Yarrell had Intended to amend
the bill. but was called to the door
by a constituent. and lost his oppor-
tunity.
To Equnltze Taxes.
The Fletcher tax equalization bill
came next. 1t is designed As a tenn
porary measure, to allow the Auditor
of Public Accounts to eaualize tho
assessments OF real estate to be made
this year. The temporary feature was
spoken OF by Mr.. Bowman, Of Roa-
noke, who said that the next Lesisla-
ture could repeal 1T before the next
land assessment.
Mr.. Cooke thought the Legislature
had better walt and let the tax COM
mission pass on the bill. He did not
sec how the Auditor could determine
the values.
How the Auditor could know more
about value thar did the local asses
sor. Mr.. Rev said. he could not see.
He wanted to amend by making the
appropriation $1,000 instead of $4,000.
He accepted an amendment by Mr..
| Williams. of Giles. making it $4,000.
1t looked to him as though somebody
wanted a job.
1t transfers powers from the local
communities to Richmond. The Aud
itor could practically institute a court
and hear a. case without notice to the
land owner. Surprising he did get
notice, it might cost him several times
the amount of his tax to get to Rich
mond.
The chair was here vacated until 4
o'clock.
Afternoon Meeting.
At the beginning of h afternoon
session a resolution offered by Mr.
deal was adopted. requiring that only
House bills on their second reading
should be considered at the ensuing
-s-tx ...rf1- o1lEfhof or1S. FE0i1Sns hills
on their third reading should be con-
sidered to-6ay.
Resuming his argument on the tau
equalization bill, Mr.. White seriously
objected to the feature which requires
that the sale value be taken as the
basis for assessment. This would put
the owner at a disadvantage, since. In
some cases. property is put at a low
figure in deeds of transfer. and in
other cases at a high figure. lit were
true. as had been stated, that the
circuit court would in the last analysis
pass on the assessment, why should
they not pass on them IN Inc Dcsln-
ming?
Mr.. Evans said that while this bill
would. perhaps, not completely meet
the present needs, 1t would to a great
extent help the state out of It's pres
ent trouble. At present. no matter
how low the assessment may be, there
is no opportunity for a correction.
Lands In Mathews.
He took this occasion TO defend Ma
thews, one of the counties which he
represents, which has been charged
with having rldiculously low assess
ments OF lands. Some mistake had
been made in the figures, not through
the fault Of the county, by which 1t
was made to show that the number OF
acres was several times what It really
is. When the true acreage is consid-
cred, 1t is found that Mathews IS
among those counties in which lands
are assessed the highest he said.
It was proposed here. he said. 70
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