New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1913-12-20
TAXATION OF LODGE PROP
ERTY.

l INCW hDSlAu, ~'S
Editor Enterprise:
! The City Board of Trustees, al
it's last meeting, refused to grant
the request made on behalf OF
tbe local Fraternal Orders own
ing property to exempt them tro"
Municipal taxes.
The request for exemption was
based on the plea that these Or
carnations being charitable So
oipt;es should be classed with re-
igious and educational lnstltu-
ions whose property holdings, as
,s we'll known, is freed from taxa
lion by the State Constitution.
The Constitution, however,
does not exempt property owned
by such societies from taxation:
but decree Of the Supreme Court
of the State rendered a few years
ago has modified the Article 81
he Constitution dealing with TINS
subject, by exempting from tax,
alton such property as is used
and occupied by these societies.
exclusively for their corporate
purposes and where no prof1t or
revenue is derived. The Court
decree however, is very clear
With respect to assessing and
taxing whatever portion or por-
tons of property owned by these
organizations from which revenue
il derived. Therefore, the Fra
ternal Orders had no legal ground
upon which to rest their demand
for a total exemption from taxa
ton and the City Trustees like.
wise would have had no legal
right to grant it. i
But passing over all legal
phases of the question, the Trus,
tees could not have exempted
the Lodges without doing an ln-
Justice to other property taxpay-
ers. l, as one Of the City Trus,
tees would not vote in favor OF
the exemption because l was I'M
willing to put myself on record
as favoring the exemption OF
property Of certain persons or
sets of persons from tsxatlon
and requiring that same be paid
on the property of others.
las the property owned by the
Fraternal Orders is rented In
competition with property OF
other taxpayers it would be man
ifestly unfair to the latter in CIV
ing the former the benefit Of tax
exemption beyond the limit au-
thorized by law.
Taxation to be fair and eqult-
able under the prevailing system
of raising needed revenue must
be imposed uniformly upon all
property subject to taxation I'M
der the law.
We are all aware of the glar-
ing inequalities existing in as
sessments here and elsewhere, land
the great object to be obtained IS
a system by which no one will
be required to pay more that his
proportion of taxes. So 1T b
that everybody should be inter-
ested in the effort to obtain this
end. Could it be said that prog
ress was being made in this direc-
ton when the result Of the re-
quest made by the Fraternal Or
ders, if granted, would have been
to free the property of some from
taxation and thereby increasing,
unjustly, the burden to be borne
by others?'
If at any time it might !. be
deemed good policy to exempt
any property from taxation (un-
less it was done to induce the To-
cation Of new industries) |
it cannot be urged that it would
be wise to do so at this time whe
the City Administration is SO
handicapped in making needed
improvements because of insult
fieient revenue and the burden
of liquidating the previous Coun-
ellis floating Indebtedness Of
$33, 10000.
] p NIIRERRIEILE