The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-11-10
NOT AN EXPORT TAX.

The Springfield Republican, under
the caption "Vermonts Tax on Christ
mas Trees" says:
Our Montpelier dispatches record
the passage in the Vermont House of
Representatives of bill imposing
tax of 25 cents per tree on evergreen
trees cut to be shipped abroad and
sold for Christmas trees Efforts on
the part of any State to check the
depredations upon young forest growth
committed at every approach of the
Christmas season are to be copa-
mended, but it should hardly need TO
be said that this particular method
of State operation will not stand.
Shipping trees abroad presumably
means shipping them beyond the bor-
ders of the State in any direction. If
it means simply export to Canada or
other foreign country, then we have
State levying an impost on exports
without the consent of Congress, and
this is prohibited by section 10, article
/, of the Federal Constitution. If it
means broadly export or shipment
from Vermont to other States in the
Union, then the tax would become an
Interference with or control of inter
state commerce by the State, whereas
the power to regulate interstate COM
merce is given by the Federal Con-
stitution to Congress.
Vermont concedly cannot tax i'm
ports from other States, nor can ii inn
pose any tax which discriminates in
favor of it's own productions and
against those of other States. No
more can it tax exports from that to
other States, or discriminate in taxa
ton between products of the State to
be consumed therein and those to be
exported therefrom. If Vermont can
place a tax on trees to be shipped out
side of the State, Pennsylvania can
place a prohibitive tax on shipments
of anthracite coal beyond its borders,
and Kansas can tax it's wheat as it
passes out of the State.
Such taxes can be as clearly applied
in the name of conservation of natur-
AL resources by Pennsylvania and Kan
sas in the cases of coal and wheat as
by Vermont in the case of Christmas
trees; but that will not save such
taxes from the constitutional inhibi-
ton as interpreted in a long line of
decisions respecting the taxation and
the interstate commerce clauses of the
fundamental law of the Nation.
IF the Vermont Legislature were
to impose a tax on all Christmas trees
cut in the State, irrespective of wheth-
er they were to be used in the State
or shipped beyond, it might in some
way or another come into conflict with
the rights of land owners as secured
by the Vermont or the Federal Con-
stitution, but it would escape conflict
with those Federal constitutional pro-
visions which have been referred to.
AS it is the bill involves an invasion
of the interstate commerce powers of
the constitution. if it is not contrary
to the section 10 above mentioned. If
enacted. it will be worth suit in the
Federal courts and nothing more
The Republican is uuduly alarmed.
Nermonters may not be as Skilled in
all the subtleties of the law as our
Massachusetts friends, but we do know
better than to interfere with the in
terstate commerce powers OF the
United States Government. The bill
in question, II. 175, imposes a license
twenty-five cents per tree. A dealer
is defined as "a person, firm or cor
poration that buys or sells more than
twenty evergreen trees in any one
year" not grown upon his own land,
and it is specified that said trees shall
be less than seven inches in diameter
The Republican will hardly argue that
the State may not impose a license
fee upon a dealer in evergreen trees
There is no provision in the bill re-
garding evergreen trees 'cut to be
shipped abroad and sold for Christmas
trees"
1t is noticeable that the Republican
does not attempt to minimize the evils
that this bill aims to correct, evils
more serious and far-reaching than
many of our own people realize. I'm
fortunately there are always owners
of timberland who, for a few dollars
in hand now are willing to sell trees
that few years later will be worth
more dollars than they now get cents
for them. The bill is an important
conservation measure and ought to be-
come a law.