The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1911-01-11
TAX SYSTEM
NEEDS REVISION
Address of A. Y. Ford to the
Members of Kentucky
Press Association.
PRESENT MODE COSTS HEAVILY
Tax Revision Does Not Mean Exemp-
ton, But Fair Apportionment on
All Kinds Of Property-lt
Means Uniformity.

mednS OnHOTmllys
Louisville.-The following is the ad
dress of Mr.. A. Y. Ford before the
Kentucky Press association at the
mid-winter gathering in Louisville:
The tax system of a state deserves
careful consideration, because the
power to tax is the power to destroy,
and a tax unwisely laid may easily
drain the life of a community or kill
an industry. Approximately $2OOOO,-
900 year are taken from the pockets
of the people of Kentucky for the sup
port of the state, county and munich
pal governments. 1t is Incompetent.
sible that a thing which means so
much in dollars and cents to the peo-
pie of the state should generally have
received such scant consideration. II
is difficult to understand why it should
have been so hard at any time to Sc
cure from those charged with the
duty of making our laws a careful,
thorough and conscientious study OF
the methods by which these large rev
enues are raised. We have no special
complaint to make of the way in
which these revenues are spent.
There has been no considerable ex-
travagance in the expenditure of our
public funds. 1t is therefore time that
we now stop to consider carefully
whether these large sums are raised
by the best possible methods, whether
they are raised in way that distri0'
utes the burden fairly as between the
owners of various kinds of property,
whether the tax laws impose the least
burden consistent with the demand
for revenue, and whether they so dis
tribute the burden as to offer the least
possible hindrance to the development
of the state. Where there is compe'
titiOn between communities such as
necessarily exists under modern con-
| ditions, an unwise system, laid With
out due consideration of the handicap
| 1t may impose upon the community In
| the sharp competition for new popula-
| ton. new industries and new capital
may easily prove destructive of pros
| perity.
Revision Does Not Mean Exemption.
The movement for a revision of the tax
system of Kentucky Is not movement
| In favor of exemption OF any kind OF
property from taxation / know Ii hal
| been characterized in some quarters re-
Gently as an appeal for an exemption VI
| capital from taxation. There has re-
an article from a gentleman for whom
| have the creates respect which reveals
| total misunderstanding of the spirit
| and purpose of this movement. In this
| article 1t is declared that the attempt to
| revise the system of taxation In Ken
| lucky is a part of general combination
| of capital to secure exemption from tax
| aticr I state deliberately. and with full
| consideration. and having abundant OPP
| portunity to know whereof | speak. that
| no advocate of the proposed revision OF
| the tax system of Kentucky has ever
| suggested that any class of property
| should be exempted from taxation.
| The purpose OF the movement for tan
| revision is not to secure exemption for
| any class of property. On the contrary.
| II Is for the purpose or removing consti-
tutional restrictions so that the legisla-
| ture may have power so 10 vary ths
| method and the rate that millions OF dol
lars of property. that now escape taxa.
ton may be made to yield revenue and
| thus relieve the burden on real estate
| Our present system has utterly failed In
| this respect. After nineteen years OF
| trial We find II has practically broken
| down. so far as concerns the raising of
| revenue from stocks and bonds and othet
| property of that intangible kind which
can easily be hidden
| Shall we merely keep on with the old
system that has failed. or shall We make
ourselves free to try methods that have
| succeeded elsewhere In deriving large
revenue from this kind OF property which
escapes in our state? | make no apo al
| for the tax dOdger. ] favor no exemption
| of any kind of property. | advocate
system that will make every kind OF
| property bear a fair share OF the burdens
| rated according to It's capacity and coll
lected by a method fitted to its character.
Facts and Not Theories
Theoretically. under our present law.
| no property Is exempt Practically, I'M
| der our present law, millions upon mil.
lions escape. Only about s. 10000 OF
bonds. for instance, We're taxed I'm Ken
lucky this year That Is manifest alb
| surdity Let us address ourselves to thu
facts Let us face the conditions as they
are-the laws of economies and OF human
nature as they are-and not as We think
they should be.
The system OF taxation we have in
Kentucky is what Is known as the Cen
eral Property Tax System. II is a syS
tenn which came into existence many
years ago when property existed In sim
| Pile form, when most that man had
| would be In shape or lands ana houses
| and live stock, or a stock OF goods, or
other things visible TO the eye and easily
assessed. In that day II served its pur-
| pose fairly well, but that day has been
long outgrown and the system which suf-
feed then Is now being generally aban-
| doned because Il has been found impOssi-
BILE to adapt Il 10 the many new forms Of
| property which have come into existence
with the tremendous Industrial and com.
! merclal development OF recent years. We
have now manifold forms OF property
that We're not even dreamed OF at thu
time the general property tar came into
favor. The development Of the corpora.
ton with the varied forms OF property
following It, together with the wide dis.
tribution OF securities, has entirely
Il changed the complexion OF affairs.
A system OF taxation which could de.
rive revenue from lands and houses and
other kinds OF visible property which
are fixed, nailed down. and unable q
escape. Is by no means fitted TO derive .
revenue from bonds and stocks and
moneys and other forms OF intangibls
personal property. like bonds and stecki
"a nanAv and notae urhiah aaa ha@-
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