The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1912-10-24
SINGLE TAX
Discussion by Missouri's Senior Senat-
or, Hon. w. ]. Stone

Discussion by Missouri's Senior Senat.
or, Hon. w. J. Stone
Through the initiative and referen.
dunn small per cent of the voters
have been able to submit for the ap.
proval of the people constitutional
amendment known as the single tax
amendment, to be voted on at the
November election. With due re-
spect to those who espouse this pro-
posal, am bound to say am unqual-
ifiedly against it. The scheme to
levy taxes on land alone, exempting
all other species Of property, is not
altogether a new one in either theory
or practice, although successful at
tempt to apply it to the great and pop
ulous states of this Union and to the
National Government itself, as logi-
cally it is proposed to do, would be
revolutionary in the extreme, and
would introduce a momentous and
startling change into our government
al, economic and social fabric. l will
not today discuss the history or phi
losophy of this propaganda, but will
confine myself to some practical sug-
gestions relating to its effect if it
should be adopted.
AS l understand the proposed
amendment it is intended to wholly
exempt from all forms of taxation
levied for State, county and municipal
purposes all kinds and descriptions Of
property except the following:
l. Real estate Qand), minus all i'm
provements thereon.
2. The naked estimated value of
the franchise granted to any public
utility corporation.
These two are to be made absolute
ly taxable forever.
3. The amendment would also
confer a discretionary power on the
State Legislature to impose a tax on
collateral inheritances.
This would not be mandatory, as in
the case of lands and franchises, but
discretional.
On the other hand, what would be
exempt from taxation-from all forms
of taxation levied under the authority
of our laws-if this amendment should
be written into the Constitution of the
State? l may make sweeping an
swer to that by saying that all proper
ty Of every description, except that |
have indicated, would be exempt;
and not only tangible property, but in
addition many other things that are
now taxed. For example, improve
ments on lands; moneys; bonds;
stocks; securities of all kinds; mer-
chandise; the products of manufac-
ture; the products of mines; tangible
personal property of every nature;
incomes; the property of railroads,
boats, street car lines, and telegraph
and telephone lines, except on their
naked lands and on the naked esti-
mated value of their franchises; banks;
trust companies-in short, practically |
everything conceivable in the form
of property would be exempt. In ad-
dition to exempting these tangible
forms of property there would also
be an end to taxation on saloon
licenses, insurance licenses, mer-
chants licenses, poll taxes, and so on,
and so forth. The scheme is to make
landalone bear substantially the entire
burden Of supporting the government
of the State and the governments of
all of its political subdivisions.
What would be the effect of a law
like that? Manifestly the first and
most striking effect would be to enor-
mously increase the burden of taxa
ton on the owners of land, which, in
turn, would tend to decrease the value
of their holdings. Let us see, in a
general way, what the increased tax
burden on landowners would amount
to. According to the last published
report of the State Auditor, that for
1910, the total of all State and county
taxes collected that year Except the
collateral inheritance tax, not includ-
ed, and aggregating $4SO,0OO,
to $34, 234, 600. Of this
sum $20,O16,OOO was derived from
taxes collected on land assessments,
including improvements thereon.
The remaining $14,218, 900 came from
other sources, substantially the whole
or .,.l:.L ..-I.- L. .~.rl:~r vvo~-o /