The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1912-10-19
TAX AMENDMENTS NALYzED.
Advantages Of Proposed System Over
Methods Now in Use Pointed
Out by Well Known Authority
Taxes OF Ordinary Citizen viii!
be Decreased.

axes OF ordinary CITlzen Will
be Decreased.
M. H. Carver, Of Natchitoches, one
OF the best-knoWn authorities on
questions Of taxation, has prepared
the subjoined article on the amend
ments to be submitted to the voters
in November. Mr.. Carver has a ma
tlonal reputation as a student OF tax
problems, and was prominent in
the constitutional convention OF
1893 as chairman OF the committee
on taxes and assessments. He franz
ed the clause providing for the crea-
tion Of the. board Of appraisers to
make uniform assessments on rail-
roads, telegraph and telephone lines.
He was a member of the tax revision
commissions of 1906 and 1912.
Natchitoches, M., Oct. 8, 1912.
To the Editor OF The Times-D Demo-
crat:
/ hope the voters will study the
tax amendments to be voted on
next month. If SO, / am sure they
will be adopted despite the opposi-
ton Of the big special interests.
The general interests of the state
are thoroughly safeguarded. The
guarantee in favor Of good roads,
leVees, the public debt, Confederate
veterans. and the public schools are
in all cases fully equal to and in
some larger than the provision made
by the present system.
Present exemptions from taxation
are not interfered with.
Besides these merely conservative
provisions, the amendments contain
others constituting great improve
ments over the present system
Amongst these improvements are:
4 /. Production of a million dollars
OF over per year from sources of rev.
enue hitherto untaxed. ..
2. Cheapening of the cost Of as
sessing and collecting state taxes.
5. Granting the legislature power
to classify property for taxation thus
PERMITTING read JUST relieve
the oVertaxed and reach the under
taxed; and also the raising, without
expressing any interest, Of larger
revenues for the states educational
and charitable Institutions.
4. Total cure of the present in
justice arising from assessment by
some parishes at high and others at
low rate.
Under the present system the tax
payers of some parishes pay more
than twice their fair share of state
taxes as compared with taxpayers OF
other parishes.
Under the proposed segregation of
sources. no parish will be interested
in the assessment Of any other par
ish.
Taxes may be reduced without re-
ducing the parish revenue. If taxes
remain the same, larger revenues will
be produced for parish purposes.
S. Cure to large extent of the
injustice arising from unequal assess.
ments as between different citizens
of the same parish.
Under the present system assess
ments are arranged alphabetically
and it is rot practicable to compare
assessments OF similar properties
with each other. Great inequalities
exist, due sometimes to favoritism,
but more often to mere carelessness,
inadvertence, or insufficient exami-
nation Of property.
The new system provides for
a geographical arrangement of as
sessments, so that property adjoining
on the ground will adioin on the
record. It provides, also, for sep
arate valuations of lands and i'm
provements and for the publication in
Continued on page eight.