The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-25


Des Moines reports a school tax of
sSos as part of the ss67.
or course the great differences in the
total rates shown above mean nothing
without knowing the basis of valuation
OF the properties. Thus Des Moines prop
erty is taxed a % per cent valuation
syracuse on supposedly full valuatio 4
and Birmingham on a supposedly CD per
cent valuation. Therefore The question
whether Birmingham property is paying
as much taxes as property in other cit e
les can be determined only hy reducing
a percentage of the supposed full valua-
ton
The government report for 1910 does not
do this; and while your committees cor
fespondence sought 10 evoke the idea,
| the answers We're not sufficiently full to
work il out
But it appears from this data that,
while the Alabama plan of having one
assessment for all taxes is generally fol-
lowed. cities outside of Alabama get from
66 per cent to so per cent Of the total
taxes levied. while Alabama cities get
about AZ per cent If Birmingham had
gotten 20 per cent of the $50 Per cent levied
in 1911 a s710ooooo of property situated
IN the city limits ii would have received
ST. $4,000 ad valorem taxes instead of
S71o,0Go; and the city treasury would have
no deficit.
The Real Trouble
Therefore we conclude that the real
/ trouble with Birminghans finance is due
TO the fact that our tax laws, like so many
of our other laws in Alabama, were
framed to serve a rural population rather
than a city populations and with the
growth of the towns in the last 10 years,
/ must be reformed. As il is now, the cit
les get 100, being about iS per cent of the
taxes levied within their limits. the state
and county each gets 50 or 2S per cent
each of the taxes levied on city property.
1t is common knowledge, without quot
ing figures that the state finances are
running shorter than they ever have run,
so that it is useless to discuss reducing
the share of the taxes to go to the state.
So If the city requires about 20 per cent
of the taxes from clty property, and tsle
state is to keep IS per cent nothing is
wasted by the county governmental ma
chinery, the county expenses will always
be great, and cannot be run on per cent
of the taxes.
Non will it solve the difficulty TO re-
duce the limits Of the county to t1e linn
its Of the cities now contained in them
for the. governmental functions hitherto
kept up al great expense out of county
treasures must be kept up in future. even
ir paid out for out of city trea suries
This unavoida BILE cost, as SHOWN by the
report of the auditor of jefferson county
for the fiscal year 1911 not including
the amounts paid directly TO the city
treasury for education and road fund
was about $4,000.
Moreover many inconveniences would
accrue to the public from reducing the
county of Jefferson to almost the terri
torial limits OF the city of Birmingham.
For example all the county roads all the
county schools and all the taxes for even
the neighboring territory, would be under
control of officials at remote points: all
the records for the prperty and persons
located outside of Birmingham, would
be kept at other towns, the nearest of
which would be Bessemer.
Several cities, throughout the country,
notab bly, San Francisco and Richmond. are
counties in themselves and their exper-
fences should be carefully Investigated
before the plan is followed by Birmng-
ham
1t may be well. that great public econ
ornies would be attained through admin
istering the finance of the city oil Birmins-
ham and jefferson county by the same
authorities: but that does nece ssarily
require the Tertiary to be restricted
as to enable police government and city
taxes 10 be uniformly applied to it, Nor
would such change finally cure the
tax system as source of revenue for all
Alabama cities increasing in size, nor
would It help the problem of the finances
of the state itself, the necessity to in
cdease the entire taxes to give the state
a little more money from time to time.
Moreover. to accomplish any new plan.
the state constitution must be changed.
So let us look for some remedy that
will cure more troubles than one.
nd whole prOblPn l.
sufficient revenues distressing both eity
and state. is the natural unwilingness
of the people to bear expenses other than
their own. If reform plan can be found
under which the property owners of Bir-
mingham and Jefferson county can be
certain that increased taxes go solely
for local expenses, they will more read
ily consent even for taxes to be Increased.
A Suggested Remedy
Your committee believe that this can be
Accomplished by adopting the California
plan, which is essentially, local property
taxation for local purposes and corporate
franchise taxation for state purposes.
That plan has been working three years
in California. and is working exceedingly