The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-04-29
NEW TAX PLANS
Will Be Submitted to the Next
Legislature.
Direct Assessment for State Ed
ucatfonal Institutions.
Observation-Disclosures
Observation-Disclosures
Tax Each County for Patients in
Charitable Institutions.
Abolish the Direct Taxes for
State Purposes.

The next legislature will have new
taxing scheme for the support OF the
state and it's numerous institutions:
The state tax commission, the poard
of control and the regents OF the ecu
cational institutions and other state
officers will have the plan worked out
completely by the time the legislature
convenes. The tax commission tried
to get through the legislature last
winter a constitutional amendment
providing for the classification OF
property for taxation. This failed and
new plans are now under discussion
by heads of departments and inst1tu-
tions and an effort is to be made TO
make a complete revision OF the en-
tire taxing system of the state
Under the present system the state
levies a certain amount of money to
be collected as general taxes each
year. Within this money the state
pays all the expenses of the different
departments and institutions and the
salaries Of employees and officials. A
few weeks ago the student body and
alumni of the state university started
a plan to change the taxing system to
provide a special levy each year for
educational purposes and that pro-
position has set the other state de-
partments and officials studying on
plans to take the institutions and de-
partments as much as possible out of
POAIIlCS DIS Lar as dPP1 Jpn ASASAOAAo GA v
concerned.
Make Direct Tax Levy.
The state university plan is to make
a certain tax levy each year and all
the money raised under this levy is
to go to the three educational insti-
buttons and their various branches.
The board of control is working on
two possible plans to put the state
charitable institutions on the same
nF footing Yllar 10
a levy set aside each year for the
charitable institutions, the same as is
proposed for the schools. This levy
would be based on the amount needed
at present and the amount received by
the board would be increased as the
state grew in wealth.
The other plan being considered by
the board is to provide a very small
levy for the charitable institutions or
have the legislature make appropria-
tions of sufficient size to pay the SAL
aries and maintain the equipment of
the nine institutions. Then each coun-
ty would be taxed the actual expense of
maintaining each patient sent to the
institutions by the different counties.
The actual expense now is about SO a
week for each patient at each institu-
ton. In addition there is the clothing
expense. The state would maintain the
institutions, provide all the officials,
employees and equipment but each
county would pay the actual SuStenance
and clothing expense of each patient
sent to any institution.
Abolish Direct Taxes.
The tax commission, members of the
board of control anG members of the
boards of regents of the different edu-
cational institutions have been discuss
ing recently plans to abolish all direct
levies of taxes for state purposes. The
proposition is to have direct 1evies
made for the support of the educational,
charitable and penal institutions and
as soon as the assessments were COM
pleted each year the institutions, or
the board in control would know just
how much money would be available
for the next year without having to
lobby the appropriations through the
legislature every two years. The state
insurance department and the other
departments, secretary of state, oil in
spector, grain Inspector and supreme
court collect fees aggregating half a
million dollars year. A small fran
chise tax on corporations would raise
about a quarter of a million dollars a
year and the tax and the fees would
pay all the state expenses without any
tax levy.
The state now raises three million
dollars a year by taxation. Less than
one million dollars is used for the act
ual state expenses. The rest goes to
the charitable, educational and penal
institutions. BY giving these tnstitu-
lions a direct levy or their own the
legislature would have little to do with
appropriations. the institutions would
not have to play politics and each one
would have a definite income.