The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-02-19
MEAN GOOD ROADS
Kansas State Auto Association
Explains Stand on Bill.
Horsepower Tax Would Provide
for Dragging Highways.

! The Kansas State Automobile Asso-
! citation in the following statement Civ
| en- outs today, explains it's position up
| on the numerous bills now pending in
| the legislature and which affect the
motorists of the state. The statement
follows.
House bill 389 is the one that has
received the unanimous endorsement of
| the state association. The bill provides
an annual tax of forty cents per
horsepower and after the car becomes
three years old then the tax is twenty
cents per horsepower instead of forty.
Ninety per cent of the funds so col
lected 10 to return to the county where
the car is wned, and to go into the
road fund to be used only for crown
ing. draining and dra gging of the roads
and for the repairing of culverts. The
remaining 10 per cent to go to secre-
tary of state to cover expense of fur
nishing application blanks. tags, etc.
This tax is in lieu of all other taxes,
including the personal property tax.
Under the present system of taxa ton,
cars purchased after March pay no
taxes that year, and the next year the
car is rated as a secondhand car at
much reduced rate. Under the above
law the tax dodger would be eliminated.
About the only opposition offered to
the above bill is the fact that the car
is exempted from taxation, but why
shouldn't it be with the above rate
levied against it?
Would it affect the general tax? Ger
tainly not. If a county is expending
$40, 900 for roads and under the above
law $1,000 would be raised wouldn't
it cut down the road taxes $1,000, there
by leaving the general tax the same.
and yet insuring that the $4,000 would
be used for maintenance only. and like
hundred cents upon the dollar for road
Improvement
Provides Fund for Dragging.
mo doubt, the greatest implement
for working roads in Kansas is the
drag, and the reason there are rot more
dragged roads is due to the fact that
the majority of township boards will
not levy a tax for dragging purposes. |
Under the above law the fund Y Guild be
provided. and no doubt would give
Kansas many miles of we'll improved |
roads, the same as it has done for |
Iowa.
Can the farmer legislator overlook
the fact that the town people are will |
ing to help the road cause to the extent |
of taking this tax from the city and |
placing it on the country roads, and in |
so doing decrease his road tax that
much? /
THE association is bitterly opposed. |
to senate bill 2S9. which provides for an
annual tax of IS and compels the |
owner to purchase two tags. which |
would entail an expense of about three |
dollars. thereby making an annual tax
of eight dollars to the car, regardless
of value. The Brush or the Ford ould !
pay as much as the Packard or the |
Pierce Arrow. With thirty thousand |
cars in Kansas this would mean an
assessment of S240,0 annually, charged |
to the motorists The slogan seems to
be to cut down taxes. but why should |
the automobile o--ner be singled out
from all other tax payers and be as
sessed s240 900 annually simply because
he is car owner?
1.-The association is opposed TO double !
taxation, whether upon an automobile, |
piano, or any other kind of property |
This law, as it now is. does not pro- |
vide for the change in color of tag
each year. neither does it require the |
year license was issued, to be placed |
thereon. It's failure so to do will mean
that you don't know whether an owner |
is operating under a license one. two, |
or three years old, and this you will be |
unable to determine, unless you entail
a heavy expense in looking up every |
car. The bill, as it left the senate, |
and as it now is. permits the fund to
be used within tie city limits, which |