The Green Forest tribune., 1910-07-29
INLEVY ONLY WAY OUT
Tax for General Revenue Purposes
 VIII Not Meet Requirements.

Will Not Meet Requirements.
 Little Rock-That some shift, oth- CT than the actual and prospective in- crease in assessment of property un- der the working of the State Tax Commission, will have 10 be made to relieve the general revenue situation for another year, has become patent 10 state officials and others who have 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 10 the amount of general revenue already paid in by the county collectors on the current years collections, show that fully $260,000 has been turned in, and if the warrants now outstanding against this fund were paid the fund would be exhausted.
 The total collections on the general revenue fund will amount to about $600.G00, at a liberal estimate. for 1910. In other words, nearly half or the current years general revenue has already been required in the course of the states business. Max ing liberal allowance for the fees tha' 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 $400,000 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 will not yield to eX- ceed an additional $SO,00O for general revenue purposes. The majority of the increased revenue goes to othee funds, such as state capitol, common school and Confederate pensions.
 As against this increase of $80,000 in the general revenue, it is conser- yatiVely 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 $125,000 to $150,000, 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 that seems now to stick hardest with those in position to 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 l 3-4 mills Six years ago it was 1-4 mills. Then there was reduction of half mill by the legislature, because the state was collecting about SS0,000 a year more than it was spending Since the reduction the state has been spending more than it has been col lecting Officials connected with the treasury and the auditing department for the past four years have pointed out the fact that the levy for general revenue purposes has not been as great as the expenditures, and that it was simply question of how long it 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 mills; that it would still be under what it was five years ago.
 Another is of the opinion that the common school levy of , mills should be cut down to 1-2, and the half mill transferred to the general revenue levy In that way the amount of tax ation 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 ob- jection, at least, for the present, to any material reduction in this fund.
 Still another way out is the sug- gestion to make q flat increase of a half mill on the general revenue levy, for the present, and as soon as the necessity for the half mill 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 IA mills.
 Whatever course is pursued finally, state officials admit that this is one of the big problems that the next legislature must deal with and that it had as well get busy iR advance so that on converting in January some well defined plan can be adopted without undue delay.