The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-11-10

OF segregation De anoptcu ~ eh0
reason that under that plan ASSESS
ments on real and personal property
| land incomes II necessary Will be
made locally solely for local purposes,
and counties and cities can use those
revenues levied in their own borders
| for their own purposes. ana VIII not
be required to- contribute from those
revenues to the support OF other
counties and cities.
From a business standpoint segre-
cation is still more desirable. be-
cause each community will be most
careful in it's expenditures and each
| taxpayer in the community viii have
an equal interest in the asssesement OF
the real and personal property ana
! incomes, of all In the community ana
| by conservative business methods the
locality will be able to reduce the
levy assessed upon the true values in
the community.
Il frankly confess board OF eduaIi-
cation, in my opinion, at the seat of
government will not prove tfficacions.
resulting rather in the addition OF OF
Ulcers at the seat of government tnan
| in correcting satisfactorily the present
Inequalities In assessments Such
board must be dependent to great
degree on the Judgment of others for
fixing these values. Values of live
? Al
of the State. The same is true or real
estate. Adjoining farms vary ma
terially in value.
For many reasons the power 10
assess would he too far removed from
the property and from the people IN
terested and vitality concerned, and II
/ appears the plan ia impracticahle and
| impossible of satisfactory and just
operation.
/ Segregation of the subjects of tax
alton eliminates the interest of the
State in equalization of assessments.
The assessment of values then becom-
/ ing purely and simply local mat
ter.
Let every county and city be de-
| pendent for its revenue upon the as
sessment of property within its boun-
diaries, and | venture to predict the
result will be assessments nearer true
and uniform value than ever before,
and values assessed in county or city
would not affect the values assessed
/ in any other county or city
The amount of license taxes on
business. professions. etc. for 1918 has
( increased over those for 1912, In round
numbers 100000.
The increase In license taxes, as
we'll as the increase in corporation
taxes assessed for 1918. justifies the
position taken by me In the tenta =
! tive plan of segregation with respect
to the revenue the State will receive
and demonstrates clearly. to my mind,
that II is ample to meet the expendi-
lures shown in that tentative plan
must he met by the state.
i Il have every confidence in the
! States ability To be operated upon the
revenue she will realize If the tenta-
tive plan of segregation proposed by
me Is adopted. however. to give II the
! elasticity which 1t is apprehended by
some few it does not now possess. the
State can reserve To herself the right
to require counties and cities to levy
for her benefit, tax not exceeding
five cents on the $4,000 valuation on
real and personal properly.
''To embody this provision In the
plan may strengthen il. although
have no idea that the state will ever
be under the necessity 10 make use .!
its provisions.
i believe the general assembly
should select commission tpartly
legislative and partly otherwisel. te
whom the matter OF taxation, IN al
it's phases, hould be referred witt
directions 10 REPORT -cntnl.le1e pIar
with bills prepared to put into opera
ton the plan. and that such com
mission should report to an extra
ordinary session to g held rot earlier
than November /. 1914
THE necessity for. and Importance
| of this work, in my opinion, mor'
than justifies the cost Of such an extra
! ordinary session OF the gene'al assem-
bly,
THE urgent need is the reaocellinf
: of the tax laws TO meet the changed
business conditions in the State. Il
make the burden Of taxation uniform
throughout the State. to- make taxation
! the least oppressive possible. under
existing conditions. and to do ava,
with double taxation. wherever pos
sIble. In all instances where 1t now
I exists.
&C. LEE MOORE.
Auditor Public Accounts"