The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1912-08-31

vacant property owned and occupied as n
homestead. such exemptions shall not ne
withdrawn either ar to enterprises es,
tablished or ubstantially begun in good
faith, to immigrants who have actu-
ally acquired and improved or in GOOD
faith begun to improve their homcSteads,
since the granting of the eyemptlon Inc
General Assembly on behalf of the state,
ard the governing authorities of all sub
divisions of the State on behalf of such
subdivision. may defer for not more than
three wears the collection of taxes In To-
calities subjected to overflow or other
public calamity.
8 TIE General Assembly shall have
power TO classify all property for taxa
tion, and to adopt different rules AID
rates for different classes but such rules
and rates shall be equal and uniform on
all subjects of the same class throughout
the territorial limits of the authority
levying the tax. All such classifications
shall be ba sed on the characteristics OF
the property itself or tts use, and never
on persons or ownership.
l. Fxcept in case of foreign invasion
or domestic revolution. the General AS
sembly shall not have power to levy
any ad valorem property tax in excess Of
four per cent: but the General Assembly
shall not exceed the rate of two and one
half per cent except by a vote of two
thirds of al the members elected to each
house thereof.
Article u.
The sources Of state and local rev
enue shall he segregated and. except as
hereinafter specified, or as may tie here
after permitted by vote of tWo-thirds
of all the members elected to each House
Of the General Assembly. each taxing
authority shall be restricted in taxation
to its sources of revenue as herein
assigned
Of two-thirds OF all the members elected
10 each House Of the General Assembly.
the following shall be the sources of
State revenue:
lst. The special taxes hereinafter pro
v4ded for.
End. All corporations, private persons
and unincortorated associations that op-
crate any railroad falling under the julis-
diction Of the Railroad Commission Of
louisiana: street railroad; combined
street railroad and electric light and
power business; heating or refrigeration
plant (nHt inclusive of cold storage
nlant; telephone line; telegraph line,
whether wireless or otherwise: express
line. dining car. sleeping car, oil car, re-
frigerating car. or cars for any other pur-
pose operating unon railroads In this
state: steamboat, motor boat. steamship.
ferry, barge, and tug. or other water
craft. where operated for hire. canal ior
TRANSPORTATION or irrigation. and pipe me
for oil or gas. When the electric hight
and power business conducted In con-
Junction with any street railroad can be
practically severed from the street rail-
road business for purposes OF assessment
then such severance shall be made by
the Tax Commission and such electric
light and power business shall not De
source Of State revenue.
3rd All banks. State and National.
Including savings banks, trust banks and
trust compa MES and all private bankers,
whether individuals or partnerships save
that the real estate Of all banks ana
bankers shall he locally assessed ana
taxed. The assessments OF the real
estate Of banks and bankers shall be
squalixed annually by the Tax tommls-
sion to the basis established and In vogue
L. Lam hnra
is located.
4th All insurance companies includ-
ing bonding and surety companies, 1or
eign or domestic and all persons ana
partnerships engaged in insuring persons
or property, save that all the real estate
and corporal property OF such companies,
persons or partnerships shall be locally
assessed and taxed.
9Th All sugar refineries, rice mills.
cotton seed oil mills, cotton seed oil re-
nneries and refineries of petroleum and
its products. A sugar refinery Is hereby
defined to be a concern that buys and re-
fines raw sugar exclusively, or a concern
that buys and rehnes more raw sugar
than the aggregate Of the sugar produced
by 1t from cane grown and purchased by
sth. All mines Of sulphur. salt or other
minerals, all oil or gas wells. all stone
quarries. sand gravel and shell pits.
3. Only the operative property of State
sources OF revenue shall be segregated to
the State. The General Assembly shall
define, in a manner not inconsistent with
any provisions of this amendment what
the operative property OF each such
source is. Real estate and the improve
n1ents thereon forming part Of any rail-
road terminal, depot yard or ware
house or shop. acquired after July !:
1912, even though 1t may form part OF
the operative property Of any railroad,
shall not be considered a source of State
revenue except by constitutional amend
ment unless such property had been,
IN n
minaA depot. yard. warehouse or shop.
a. All other property subject to taxa
ton. except as herein specified or except
as NAV hereafter he directed by vote
of two thirds Of all the members elected
to each house Of the General Assembly,
shall be sources OF local taxation.
Article ~.
The General Assembly shall have power
to levy for State purposes the following
special taxes:
corporations not to exceed 2 cents a
share.
2. tax on the organization Of do
nestle corporations, organized for profit,
excepting banks, fraternal insurance
companies, and building and loan or
ten dollars fiat. plus not to exceed one
twentieth of one per cent of the author
ized capital stock and surplus which tax
shall be levied upon increases Of capital
stock as well as upon original issues.
8. A tax on private corporations, or
ganized for profit. for the privilege OF ex-
ercising corporate functions not t. ex-
coed one twentieth Of one per cent per
annum on the outstanding capital stock
and surplus, excluding banks. fraternal
and life insurance companies and build
ing and loan or homestead associations;
no such tax to be less than five dollars
On foreign corporations this tax shall
be levied on such proportions Of their
capital stock and surplus as is used in
this State in intra- State business. In
lieu OF the franchise tax on capital and
surplus, life insurance companies, foreign
and domestic not including fraternal In
surance associations, shall pay annually
q Nat fee Of $4,000 pfus $2.6e on each
SIC. 00O. 90 Of premiums collected in Louis
lana during the preceding year.
T. The annual ad valorem tax on all