The Nevada County picayune. (Prescott, Ark.) 190?-current, 1910-07-29
INCREASE INLEvY ONLY WAY OUT
Tax for General Revenue Purposes
VIII Not Meet Requirements.


Little Rock.-That some shift. 9th
err than the actual and prospective IN
crease In assessment Of property I'M
der the working of the State lax
Commission, will have to be MADE 70
relieve the general revenue SITUATION
for another year, has become patent
to state officials and others who nave
given the state financial situation
careful study and have kept tab on
the relation Of expense to income
during the past two or three years.
Figures compiled as TO the amount
of general revenue already paid in by
the county collectors on the current
years collections, show that fully
s260 900 has been turned in, and II the
warrants now outstanding against TINS
fund We're pad the fund would De
exhausted.
The total collections on the general
revenue fund will amount to about
100000, at liberal estimate, Tor
1910. In other words, nearly half OF
the current years general revenue
has already been required in the
course of the states business. Max
ing liberal allowance for the fees
that Will reach the general revenue
for the remainder of the year through
the secretary of state and other de-
partments, it is estimated that the
state will not have TO exceed 100000
from all general revenue sources for
the remainder of the year
That this forecasts stringency for
the ensuing year is admitted. state
officials connected with the financial
department call attention to the fact
that the increase in assessment OF
state property viii not yield 20 ex-
coed an additional $50 600 for general
revenue purposes The majority OF
the increased revenue goes to other
funds, such as state capitol, common
school and Confederate pensions.
As against this increase of $4,000
in the general revenue, ii is conser-
vatiyely estimated that new state en-
terprises now under way and all of
which have received the sanction OF
the past legislatures, will create from
January. 1911, a fixed annual expen-
diture of not less than $4,000 to
$780, 00. in addition TO the normal ex-
penditures of the present time.
And this does not take into account
the increased expenditures that will
come from gradual and healthy
growth and extension OF state enter
prises
increase General Tax Levy.
Out of all The possible financial
cure-alls that have been suggested, the
fact thai seems now to stick hardest
with those in d position 10 Judge of
the general revenue needs is that the
tax levy for general revenue purposes
will have to be increased.
AT present that levy is "a nils
Six years ago it was Ia mills.
Then there was a reduction of half
mill by the legislature, because the
state was collecting about $4,000
year more than it was spending.
Since the reduction the state has been
spending more than it has been col
lectins Officials connected with the
treasury and the auditing department
out the fact that the levy for general
revenue purposes has not been as
great as the expenditures, and that
ii was simply a question of how long
il would take to use up the surplus.
That surplus is gone-entirely gone.
One official suggests that the gen
eral revenue levy should be at least
bot 10
what il was five years ago
Another is of the opinion that the
common school levy of ) mills should
be cut down TO . II, and the half mill
transferred to the general revenue
levy In that way the amount Of tax.
alton would be differently distributed.
However. in view of the comprehen.
sive campaign outlined for the over
hauling Of the public school system.
it is likely that there would be OBJ
lection, at least, for the present. 70
any material reduction in this fund.
still another way out is the sug.
gestion TO make a flat increase Of
half mill on the general revenue levy,
for the present. and as soon as the
necessity for the half mil levy for
the building of the new state capitol
ceases TO exist the repeal Of the state
capitol levy would again equalize the
taxes, leaving the general revenue
permanently at 2 Ia mills
Whatever course IS pursued finally,
state officials admit that this ia one
OF the big problems that the nert
legislature must deal with, and that
it had as well get busy in advance so
that on converting in January some
we'll defined plan can be adopted
without undue delay.