Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-03-01

WOULD BE A DANGT4SOUS TbNNO-
VATION. a.


In speeclsatew days agoN sqv.
Smith reccon llded a changeeA 81
constitution 1.-THE state that w.
require railro . and other public 50
vice corporations to pay their taxes by
June 20, instead of by December 20, as
at present. This, he held, would bring
into the state treasury some $750,000
at time when the state is generally
confronting a deficit, and bring about
a decided improvement in its financial
condition, avoiding the continual
necessity of borrowing at that time to
meet its necessities.
Of course this would be somewhat
of discrimination against the corpor-
atoms referred to. To require them to
pay their taxes by June 20 and permit
all other classes of taxpayers to with
hold paying until December 20 would
probably not be readily acquiesced in
by the corporations Disseminated
against. A long and hard fought law
suit would doubtless be the result,
with chances doubtless favoring the
corporations that were compelled to
pay taxes six months ahead of other
taxpayers.
AS the constitution now stands it is
provided that all taxes shall be uni
form. Once before an effort was made
to compel railroads to pay taxes in
advance of other taxpayers, but the
State Supreme Court set it aside as a
violation of the state constitution. 1t
is to remove this objection that ex-
Gov. Smith urges a constitutional
amendment. If such an amendment
were adopted by the people it does not
follow that the corporations would
meekly submit to being put into al
separate class as to the time of pay
ment of their taxes. 1t is quite pos
sible that they have rights that could
be protected through other agencies
than the state courts.
Outside of this Comptroller General
Wright points out that if Mr.. Smiths
suggestion were enacted the entire
system of assessments of such corpor-
atoms would also have to be changed.
He shows that under the system now
in vogue it takes practically up toI
December 20 to adjust such matters.
Says he in an interview on the sub
ject:
I'm his recommendation, former
Gov. Smith probably overlooked the
length of time which must elapse, af-
ter returns are made to the comptrol-
Ter before disputed assessments can
be finally settled. The railroads are
required to make their returns to me
by May l. Then l have sixty days to
detrmine whether such returns are
reasonable and fair, and whether I
Will accept them, certainly not too
long time considering the number of
corporations and the vastness of the
interests involved. After my assess
ments are made, in cases where I re-
fuse to accept the returns, the cor
porations have twenty days to deter
mine whether they will accept the as
ed for them to ascertain whether they
Soh o5A &C upOn d FdludLIOu, OF Wu6LH-
er an appointment of an umpire will
be needed After an umpire has been
appointed, he is allowed thirty days
in which to make his award A little
matter of addition will show that a
total of lao days are allowed, after the
returns are in, before a disputed vaIu-
alton may be finally determined. Add
lao days to May l, and it does not
come far from reaching December 20, |
the present legal time limit for pay
ments."
The men who built the present state
constitution stood for equality before
the law of all classes of taxpayers. Tt
will probably be an unwise thing to |
tamper with the provisions they made |
to that end. Once the state begins to |
separate one class of taxpayers from
another as to the time of collection of |
taxes troublous waters will be ahead.
The innovation would doubtless lead
to efforts to further amend the con-
stitution on this line and no one could
tell where agitators would put it.