The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-01-19

I luNnAhtAEAaN "a Iht INV AAAhNHe 81 LAh
State, after trying out many expedients
and finding their practical workings did
not reach the trouble nor minimize the
evils, decided, in response TO the de.
mauds of a Christian people, to put an
end to a business hurtful to the moral
welfare of the State, and | have never
vet seen any cause to doubt the wisdom
Of the course.
There is so much of interest to talk
about to the people of this State that of
necessity | must omit even u reference
to many matters that press upon me for
consideration lest this address be un.
duly heightened, but ut some other time
your attention will be called to them.
Public Revenue and Taxation.
There is one other idea, however,
which | wish to impress upon you at the
beginning of this administration. We
have reached the parting of the ways
and must decide whether we will con.
tinue interest bearing bonds to provide
money to defray the current expenses of
the government, or provide a sufficient
revenue to pay rs we go. a practice has
grown to pass large appropriation bills
and, because the rate of taxation pro
duces revenues sufficient TO meet the ap-
preparation, the issuance Of bonds is pro.
vided to meet the deficit. This sort of
makeshift tinanciering will ultimately
bankrupt the State, and no excuse can
be offered for this profigate manage.
ment of the public business. The money
must be provided by taxation to pay
current expenses, or expenses must be
reduced. The most elementary business
principles condemn the ISSUANCE of long
timed bonds to get money with which to
pay the expenses of today. 1t may be
good policy to float bonds for permanent
improvements to be enjoyed by future
generations, but bonds should be author
lied for such purposes, and the money
derived from their sale should be used
for no other purpose.
It is not an impossible matter TO &C.
complish the desired end without laying
too heavy an impost upon the property
and business interests OF the State.
But this result can be accomplished
only upon a careful revision of our tax
laws, and a more equitable apportion-
ment of the burdens of government,
Much of the property of our citizens Is
now taxed to the limit that it should be
made to bear.
Other classes of property hat are
probably more valuable and profitable TIC
the owners have escaped, and are now
escaping the making of contribution to
the State, of their fair share of the rev.
enucs required to be raised for public
purposes.
The foreign business corporations, and
profit thereby, have the corpus of their
estates and assets outside of the state
and beyond the reach OF tax collectors
of the State.
1t 10 but fair that as they profit from
the business they secure from our peo-
pie they should pay proportionately for
the privilege as the home man must do.
The telegraph, telephone, express,
sleeping car and railroad companies, and
other public service corporations, enjoy
and exercise franchises and privileges
under the Constitution and laws OF the
State and their tangible assets are in a
very large part outside OF the State.
But they find the business they secure
and control in the State Of substantial
value and of dividend paying proportion
to their owners, while the taxes which
they pay to the State for the privileges
which they exercise and enjoy therein
are meagre and inadequate and entirely
out of proportion.
The Constitution has provided special
methods for the assessment of the taxa
ton of the property of certain corpora
tions, in order that they may made to
pay their just dues to the State; and a
fair revision of our laws on this sub.
ject will result III a greatly increased
revenue to the State from these sources.
The privilege to transact business as a
corporation is a valuable franchise, and
yet the absence of a franchise tax Is de-
priving the State yearly Of sums which
should legitimately be levied upon and
collected because of the exercise of such
d right.
Whether the corporation taxes which
should be collected to require all corpoT-
atoms to pay what is only their just
due to the State should be collected as
ad valorem, or privilege taxes, or as
taken on gross receipts, or by resorting
to the exercise of a c~onjoint application
of the foregoing or other methods of tax.
alton, 1 shall not now suggest, but leave
the determination of all such matters Of
detail and procedure to the wisdom and
discretion of the Legislature. A system
Of taxation which would work nm in.
justice to corporations, / am confident,
in advance, will not be considered by a
Mississippi Legislature, but the time
has come when the true value Of prop
erty and franchises of corporations doing
business in our State should be deter
mined, and when determined they should
be raised by resort to the property and
property rights and interests of the
State, and by applying to them the laws
which are intended to raise revenue.
An ad vaIorem system of taxation as
the sole reliance for revenue is made.
quate, because experience has taught
that it does not reach all the objects
from which revenue should rightly be
raised.
Our State is not abreast Of the times
in that respect. The Legislature of the
State has never provided for the collec-
ton of an income tax, although those
who possess incomes are as amply able
to pay n reasonable tax to support the
government as they who own real or per.
sonal estate, which may in fact be non
productive.
The payment Of an inheritance tax by
all who come into wealth without exer-
ton is not a hardship, and in almost all
civilized lands such a tax is levied and
collected.
But no such tax has been levied by
any law on the statute books of Missis-
sippi.
Public servants should be paid for
faithful public services, and adequately
paid, but they should not be authorized
10 levy and collect from the public taxes
in the guise of fees as emoluments Of
their offices, TO their undue enriching,
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