The Natchitoches enterprise. (Natchitoches, La.) 1888-1965, 1912-10-10
ACT Mo IL.

secretary VI
ACT No ~.
House Bill No. 2. BY Mr.. ROBERTS
Joint resolution submitting to the PEG
ME of Louisiana an amendment to the
reorganizing and remodeIlng
the States system of assessment and tax
alton.
Section /. Be. IT, resolved by the &c Cen en-
two thirds Of all the members elected
to each House concurring, That the FOL
lowing amendment to the Constltutlon OF
the State of Louisiana be and the same
is hereby submitted to the qualified eiec-
tors Of the State at the Congressional
election to be held on the first Tuesday
after the first Monday in the month oi
November, in the year 1912, to-Wlt:
1. The taxing power shall be exer-
cfsed by the State and by its subdivis-
ions for public purposes only;
O. The taxing power shall never De
surrendered, suspended, given, commu-
ted or contracted away; but where par
fishes or municipal corporations shall
grant exemptions from parish or NUM-
cipal taxes fer a period not to exceed ter
years from date of completion to en-
Courage the establishment of industrial
enterprises or a similar exemption to i'm
migrants Of the value added by them &c
vacant property owned and occupied as 9
homestead, such exemptions shall not De
withdrawn either as to enterprises es-
ia blished or substantially begun In gooo
faith or to immigrants who have actu.
ally acquired and improved or in gooo
faith begun to impr9ev t their Tbs
(seneraFe sranes.1Ion behalf of the State
and thel Assembly authorities Of all sub.
division sos ~ tate on behalf OF sucr
sobsEiyisisSn g nl hns isfsf f6 not nofe ssss
three years the collection Of taxes in To-
calities subjected to overflow or other
VArzta n % a
Z. The General Assembly shall have
power to classify all property for taxa
ton, 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. All such classiications
shall be based on the characteristics of
on persons or ownership.
T. Except in case of foreign invasion
or domestic revolution, the General As
sembly shall not have power to levy
four per cent: but the General Assembly
shall not exceed the rate of two and one
half per cent except by vote OF two
thirds of all the members elected to each
house thereof.
-O Article u.
l. The sources of State and local rev.
enue shall be segregated and, except as
hereinafter specified, or as may be here
after permitted by a vote of thirds
of all the members elected to each House
of the General Assembly. each taxing
authority shall be restricted in taxation
to its own sources Of revenue as herein
assigned.
3. Until otherwise provided by a vote
of two-thirds of all the members elected
10 each House OF the General Assembly,
the following shall be the sources OF
1st. The special taxes hereinafter pro-
yided for.
End. All corporations, private persons
and unincorporated associations that OPP
diction Of the Railroad Commission OF
louisiana: street railroad; combined
street railroad and electric light and
power business; heating or refrigeration
plant; telephone line; telegraph line,
whether wireless or otherwise; express
line, dining car, sleeping car, ell car, re-
frigerating car, or cars for any other pur-
state; steamboat, motor boat, steamship,
ferry, barge, and tug. or other water
craft, where operated for hire, CANA for
trar-nortatien or Irrigation, and pipe line
for oil or gas. When the electric light
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
the Tax Commission and such electric
light and power business shall not be a
source of State revenue.
3rd. All banks, State and National
including savings banks, trust banks and
trust companies, and all private bankers
whether individuals or partnerships, save
that the real estate of all banks AND
bankers shall be locally assessed and
estate of banks and bankers shall be
eaualized annually by the Tax Commits
sion to the basis established and in vogue
in each locality where such real estate
4th. All insurance companies includ-
ing bonding and surety companies, for
eign or domestic. and all persons and
partnerships engaged in insurfng persons
or property save that al the the real estate
persons or partnerships shall be locally
assessed and taxed.
5th. All sugar refiner1es, rice mills
cotton seed oil mills, cotton seed oil re-
1neries and refneries of petroleum and
its products. A sugar refinery is hereby
defined to be a concern that buys and re-
fines raw sugar exclusively, or concern
that buys and refines more raw sugar
than the aggregate of the sugar produced
Sy it from cane grown and purchased BY
9Th. An mines of sulphur, salt or other
minerals, all oil or gas wells, all stone
quarries, sand gravel and shell pits.
g. 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 sucf
source is Real estate and the improve
naents thereon forming part of any rail-
road terminal. depot or yard or ware
house or shop, acquired after July /
1912, even though II may form part oil
she operative property of any railroad
I not be considered source of State
C fycept by constitutional amend
| C Haaeh s2sas a Ne been