The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-06-03
Charges Organized Effort of Favored Interests to
 Evade Law
NO DISCRIMINATION
 BY COMMISSIONERS
The Real Question, He Says. is Whether Jefferson County Tax payers Are Paying on As
 sessed Value of 50
 Per Cent

Ter leHl
 Montgomery, June 2.-(Special.) )-Declar- inr that there is an organized effort on the part of certain favored interests Ill Jefferson county to nullify the tax laws of the state. and to prevent the weaiehy property owner from bearing ms Just burden of taxation; that many of those who are loudest in their protests are assessing their property at less than oo per cent, and that no law-abiding citizen should undertake to soothe his conscience by the derelictions of his neighbors, GOV ernor Emmet o'NeaL today issued strong interview regarding the work or the state tax commission in JeHersoh county The governor declared that the movement to nullify the tax laws of the state is led by the representatives or "big business'' that the worst tax dodgers are to be found in the ranks of those best able to contribute to the support or the government. and that such a move ment, inaugurated by small property owners would be regarded as sociahsuc and anarchistic in it's tendencies.
 ne ncdi 9utcttVht
 According to the governor, the ineiilci- ency of the present revenue laws IS que to the efforts of representatives or COT porate interests, who swarmd arouno the corridors of the legislature during the time the bill was under considera- tion. The governor says in his inter view that the real question is not whether Jefferson county pays more taxes than another in the aggregate or receives less than it's just share or taxa ton. but whether those taxpayers Tn 1el, ferson county, who have been sumInoheu to show cause by the state ana county tax commissioners are paving taxes on an assessed valuation Of eo per cen. oa their property. If they are, the raises should be denied. If they are not, they will or should be sustained.
 Must Enforce Law
 Speaking of the provision of the revenue code fixins assessments al uv per os,a' sd of the actual value. the governor de- clared that the taxing authorities or the s,ata have no otrsr alternative tHan to enforce the law According to the ex- ecutive, the tax commission did not single out Jefferson county in which to begin it's operation for any other reason thah that the commission had to commence somewhere and as Jefferson county con tained one-tenth of the states popula- tion. and more than one-tenth Of It's wealth, it was thought best to begin III that popuious county.
 Tt was with no spirit of hostility or discrimination that that county was se- lected as a field for the inluai iapoiS of the commission" said the executive.
 Referring to the committee. which ap- peared before the board of revenue m Jefferson county an protested agaihse that body of officials docketing any cases where there was a proposed tax increase the governor said ri is incomprehensible that men of the intelligence high character standing, and patriotism of the big committee, as it is termed, that appeared before the board of revenue should seriously urge inc members of that court to ignore their sworn duty to comply with the plain and simple mandates of the law.
 The Governors Interview
 The full text of the governors Inter view is as follows:
 aFor the first time in our history the reu arkable spectacle is presented or an organized effort to nullify the tax faws of the state and to prevent certain fav- ored interests in our wealthiest and most populous county from bearing their just bu1den of taxation. It is unfortunate that this movement is led by many of the rep reseptatives of big business and or wealthy corpor rations, and only tends to confirm the common impression that many of the worst tax dodgers are to be tound in the ranks of those who are best aple ! to contribute to the support of govern nent whose protection and favors they en- | ioy to a greater extent than other classes. I Had such a movement been inaugurated | by labor leaders or small property owners . it would have been denounced as con spiracy against the state and both sociaf- | istic and anarchistic in it's tendencies. The l ostensible purpose of this movement IS to secure sufficient public sentiment to ccerce the board of revenue, to induce them to violate their paths of office and to refuse to obey the. law they have sworn to enforce. It Is gratifying. however, to know that many of the representatives of corporate wealth and big business have refused to join in this movement They have been patriotic enough to recognize that no class of our people receive more | benefit from our government than them selves, and that 1t is their duty to pay what the law requires. The men who are leading this movement are practically the same that swarmed around the corridors | of the legislature and protested against the passage of revenue law drawn by the constituted authorities of the state, i and which after thorough investigation, | even by those who represented corporate i interests, was conceded to be Just, Fair and equitable. Most of the gentlemen i who are now protesting are responsible for it's defeat and the substitution of the present revenue law-concededly drawn in favor of special interests. 1t Is this reye- nue law, drawn during the closing hours of the legislature and submitted to the governor few minutes before the time | for it's passage expired, which Judge 4. 0. Lane and other mayors of municipalities | etnte has worked hardship upon the 1 cities of our state by exempting certain | coruorate interests from the payment of licenses that heretofore constituted part of their revenue The indictment which | they make against the present revenue i law, that it favors insurance companies. express companies. telephone companies, railroad companies. banks, cotton seed oil mills and automobile owners and dealers, | is well founded.
 A Noticeable Fact
 ..In all the meetings that have been held 1t is noticeable that 1t has not been claimed that the increased assessments | suggested by the state tax commission are in excess of the 60 per cent valuation re- ouired by law On the contrary. the sole | reason given why those who are not pay ! ing their just proportion of the state s taxes should be allowed to escape is that Jefferson county as a whole pays more taxes than any other county in the state. and the present efforts of the state tax of-
 
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