The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-04-01
Houehton Department
SAYS BILL WOULD
ENCOURAGE GRAFT
TAX COMMISSIONERS SHIELDS is
MUCH OPPOSED TO THE KING
MAN TAXATION
MEASURE

TaE comm u..r Robert IT, Shields
0E U.Ha.tuu $500 D1Ne Monday for
lansing to use DIS Influence against
.ue passing or "a bW introduced by
senator knlman. which hy declares
. tI Hg o. very undesirable p.c,r of lex
. I-auau. a cops ot the btI has just
.r.t.HrI Nr shields and pee immediate
. -n through tHe sehcmr and wrote
Governor Osborn. calling his attention
ta tre same and making am appoint
utut with him for next Wednesday 90
discuss The matter. Mr. Shields is very
much opposed TO the bin and states
that thc passing of such "a measure
would cause endless trouble and COM
motion throughout the state His cx-
perioncc m taxation matters tells him
that the hin must Dee prevented from
passing al AN costs.
~Thr Lord bin which has now be-
come "a law ana which restores To- the
Board of state Tax Commissioners an
the authority il ever had will result I'm
general raising Of assessments
throughout The state" said Tax Conn
missioner Shields yesterday, but viii
not necessarily mean "a raise i'm taxes
In TACT II an the property in the state
,uuld-be got onto the assessment rolls
nc its real value the rate of taxation
would probably not exceed half the
present rate. But there is another bill
mp before the Senate. which, il it be-
comes law, win cause more or less
OF commotion ia alI parts Of the
state This bill is known as Senate
Hiu No. 2iG, File 40 pa, introduced
hy senator Kingman and already re-
tcrrcd TO the committee on taxation.
Easy Money For Experts"
This bin authorizes the tax COM
mission 20 employ experts to look up
AN the personal property that has es-
capped taxation for the past ten years /
ANA have II assessed. These experts |
are not 90 be paid any salary or ex- !
pcuses, but are 10 receive a contingent /
Zee amounting TO twenty-five per cent /
% AN the taxes that can be collected |
through the fundamentally of the evil |
dcnce procured by the experts and |
through their efforts 10 bring about an |
advantageous settlement OF the claim /
for taxes due. I doubt If Il win be- |
come "a law, but If it should there |
would Doe mo- end 10 the mischief that /
would result The people who are in
tcrested in the passage of this bill !
have reported tho tax commission as
fayoring tho measure. but have writ
ton Gov Osborn calling his attention |
to tho same and ] Do not believe he |
would favor 10 FOR minute and !
know the members OF the commission
would not"
How Law Would Work.
MIR. Shields gave some very concrete
examples of the working of the pro-
posed bill Hr stated that only about
q. per cent of the personal property i'm
the state is ON tho tax rolls at the
present time The nature of the law
iu regard To- the taxation OF personal
property makes il impossible To- tax
aIl the PROPERTY iu this class as only
the best detective can find out AN the
property "a man owns and the man
himself would not consider aIl of it
assrssabIc. TO give au example:
\ man has owned POO shares Of
NnnIglmatod fpr the past ton years
and this property has escaped taxa
tlou. The ",zp,r.' find this inrur-
nation bon some way aud then can up