The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-01-24
MORE POWER
TO THE COUNTIES
SAYS GOVERNOR

Governor Frear yesterday had some |
thing to say in advocacy of a COM
plete and radical change in the Hawai- !
ian taxation system. He mentioned |
a number of existing evils, and point |
ed out where the matters could be re-
NEEDED by thorough reforms, which |
he considered would place the system
on a proper business basis.
Every county should have the right |
to make it's own assessments, the gov
ernor stated. BY placing this respon
sibility on the supervisors, it would
have the effect of making the electors
consider more carefully the class of
men they would elect, while the Off
Gals would also be more careful in
their handling of the funds.
The Territory should have the gen.
eral revenue, which would include
moneys received from the inheritance,
income, insurance and other taxes as
well as that on railway property and
other property of communication and
I transportation. The whole of the re.
mainder of the Territorial revenue,
which at present is collected by the
Territory subject to the prorata CT
the counties as established by statute,
should go to the counties alone, to be
applied where it was raised.
The Governor says that the main
question is, how shall the principal
taxes be divided? In answering him
self he states that there ought to be
no difficulty in solving this problem;
it should be settled here, because it
| is rapidly nearing a settlement on the
mainland, though to some extent for
| different reasons. In general, the
counties should have the property tax
es and the Territory the income, in
surance, and other taxes of a similar
nature. This division happens to come
out about right in comparison with the
revenues and needs of the Territory
and the counties, respectively, as is
shown by experience.
The governor then dwells on the
| benefits that would accrue to both the
Territory and the counties. Each
would get the credit for what it had
saved and the taxes of each could be
raised or lowered according to the
needs of each without unnecessary
and difficult complications with the
! other.
The question arises whether it
would not be just as we'll to turn the
assessment and collection of taxes
over to the counties, They ought to
be able to perform those functions as
well as many that they have now, and,
in some respects, they would be in a
! better position than the Territory to
collect certain classes of taxes. If
they had these functions, their voters
would be in better position to hold
their supervisors to responsibility and
would take greater interest in the
I elections.
This division also does not neces-
sarly involve the rate of taxation be-
ing fixed by the county governments,
and yet it might be as well to go
step further and permit them to fix
the rate, but within prescribed limits.
The limit might be made one per cent,
as it is now, and the supervisors be
permitted to make it as much lower
as they please. This would tend still
more to fix responsibility upon them
and to compel the voters to take an in.
terest in the elections, because there
would be conspicuous direct connec.
ton between the supervisors and the
amount of money which comes out of
each voters pocket"
In conclusion, the Governor says:
1T might be we'll to go still further