Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-04-15
BAD bUNCLE.
May Affect the EnIire
Telegraph Tax,
Two Contradictory Acts Pass
The Legislature.
lad vaIorem Act and Amendment
TO Gross Receipts Act.

\ peculiar case of bungliug in law
making by the 18th Legislature has
just come to light which is likely to
| affect the asse essment OF the entire
| Telegraph tax. Two acts in relation To
| the assessment of the telegraph tax
| ha|" been passed by the Legislature
AMI signed by Governor Plaisted,
| which are in direct contradiction ol
| each other.
Thr statute in regard 20 the taNa-
tien of telegraph and telephone COM
panies. taxing them upon the gross
| receipts, WAS amended two years ago
so as to laE a tax upon receipts col
| lectcd within the State This law was
| stronglV objected to hv the telegraph
companies doing business within this
STATE. Of which there are three, the
| Northern. Postal and Western Onion.
| The Postal has refused payment of the
tax ON the ground that il was not
| constitutional and it was To cvade that
difficult" that the present Legislature
passed the following act taxing tel
| graph companies upon an ad valorem
basis.
IN Act relating to the Taxation of Tcle-
graph Companies
| Whereas TINS act involves the raising
| OF revenue for the state of Maine, and
whereas the tax assessed under il must
| be assessed prior 10 May first next and
Whereas. by reason of thesr facts. in
the opinion of the legislature. the inn
mediate passage of this act Is rendered
necessary and constitute an emergency
within the meaning Of the constitution.
now therefore
Be it enacted by til, People u the state
of Maine as follows:
Section |. Every corporation. asSacia-
ton or person operating In Nsho!c or in
part telegraph line within this state
shall annually pay into the state treas
ury tax uf TWO and Une-hslf pr cent
| on the value of any telegraph line owned
b. said corporation. association or person
within the STATE. incuding al palvS. insu-
lators. office furniture. batteries and in
strumentS. taking into eonsidcrl .ioa any
circumstanc 5 or conditions eGec isfs the
value of the property.
Section ;. said tax shall lg p,itl into
the state treasury on or before tin ..rst
day of September annually and :, in
place Of all STATE or municipal taxation
on any of tie property a. shares Of said
corporations, or associations.
Section >. Every such corporation. com
pany or person shall annually on or be-
fore the fifteenth day of April rctGrn- tc
TIE secretary Of state under oath of its
superintendent thet amoHnt and Valu" Of
u y
owned by it within the state on the first
lay OF April and the state assessors shall
determine said values and assess SAID
TAX thereon by tive first day Of May an
nuallN. The secretary of state shall
thereupon certify said Assessment 10 the
treasurer of the stat who snail forthwith
notify the parties assessed
section l. Any eorpafation, aSsociG-
tion or person neglectn& to make the
returns required by the preceding section
forfeits Twenty-Five dollars for every
days neglect, to he recovered by an act
or debt i'm the name of the state.
Section ;. All laws and parts of laws
inconsistent with this act are hereby re-
pealed.-tApproved March 2S)
That act With its closing section
"A}l laws and parts Of laws inconsist-
ent with this act are hereby rep aled. -"
would seem To have satiSlItd the Pos
tai Telegraph Co., and t. have hoen
good and sufficient. Eut tie laWnak
ers did not Lei the matter stop there.
The nest thing theE did vas 10 max
tine very law that this aC- would natu-
rally EaV" repealed effective by
amending il and thus re- nactng TIE
statute. This VAS done by passing an
amendment, which increases the rate
of taxation upon the gross receipts of
telegraph and telephone companies,
Notwithstanding that an act approved
on the preceding dlN had provided
for. the taxation of telegraph com
panieS upon an ad vdlorcm basis The
act increasing thu rate Of taxation
upon TIL" gross receipts is as follows:
An .Act 10 amend section thirtv-snven of
Chapter eight Of the EeyiseC statutes
relating to the Taxation of Telephone