Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1912-09-13
THE TAX AMENDMENTS.

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date for the Governorship ran, called
for a remodeling of our imperfect
and Anticipated system of assessment
and taxation.
With a desire to carry out the
pledges on this subject, Governor
Hall had the General Assembly at
its regular session to provide for the
appointment of State Tax Com
mission composed of the Lieutenant
Governor and eight members of the
Senate appointed by him, of the
Speaker of the House and sixteen
members of the House appointed
by him, and six members appoint
ed by the Governor.
This commission met in Baton
Rouge and after three weeks of the
hardest and most earnest and pains
taking labor, reported to an extra
session of the General Assembly,
called for the purpose of consider
ing its report, and suggested the
submission to the people of eight
proposed amendments to our Con-
stitution, all of which affect the
taxing system. The principal amend
ment, the one which practically
reyolutionizes the taxing system,
and gives to the people of the State
Home Rule in matters Of taxation,
is Act No. II, which will be found
elsewhere in this issue.
The principal change made in
our system of taxation by Article /
OF this Act, is that it does away
with the antiquated and absurd idea
that had found Judgement in our
Constitution, as in the Constitutions
OF many States, that taxation shall
be equal and uniform" constitu-
tional provision which has been
condemned by practically every Tax
Commission that has been organized
in any State Of the Union, and in
serts in its place a provision, as fol-
lows: The General Assembly shall
have power to classify all property
for taxation, and to adopt different
rules and 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" by this provision
the General Assembly has the
power to fix different rates of taxes
on different classes Of property.
Thus oil mills throughout the State
could be taxed at one rate and oil
reineries at another and sugar re-
ineries at another, and so on, there
by making our taxing system more
elastic, and giving the General As
sembly the right to place a heavier
burden of taxation on those persons
or those classes of business better
able to stand it.
Article III Of the Act is the segre-
cation article and the one article on
which the new system of taxation
is founded. By this article it is
proposed to set apart certain objects
OF taxation to be taxed by the State,
and by the State only, except under
certain conditions, the State sources
/, OF revenue can be made to pay GER
tain special taxes, such as school
and drainage taxes, and leaving all
other property to be taxed by the
parishes and municipalities, and re-
lieving the sources Of parochial and
municipal taxation from the pay
ment of State taxes.
Under this new plan, Che State
proposes to raise its revenue by tax
ing the Public Service Corporations,
insurance Companies, both Fire
! and Life, Bonding and Surety Com
panies, Inheritances, Banks and
'Corporations, Ferries. Franchises,
Oil Mills and Oil Refneries, Sugar
Refineries, Rice Mills, and all other
Natural Resources, such as Oil, Gas,
Sulphur, Salt, Sand, Gravel, and
Rock, leaving all other property,
such as Real Estate and all person.
al property as objects of Parochial
and Municipal taxation.
Under this plan, every parish in
the State would be the gamer ex-
cept about four, the total gain to
the different parishes being about