Mohave County miner., 1914-12-12
Will Arizona Take the Hint.

At the Phoenix session of the Ameri- can Mining Congress many of the dele gates were apparently in favor of the taxation of mining property on basis of net proceeds. Under the present system mines are taxed on the gross and net. The gross proceeds of the mines are taxed at 12 1-2 per cent and the net at 300 per cent. Something of this kind is in use in the other mining states, but it is argued that in the event that all tax be laid on the net product there would be temptation to curtail net production, especially if there was parent corporation to re- port to, and which would handle the funds. It does not appear right that a corporation may pay out 100, ,000$ in de- velopment and take in 100,000$ from ore sales, and then have to pay on tax of 12, 500$ on the gross production. It is the rule, though, that all taxes are really levied on development. A man may have a town lot valued at 5O0$ and puts 50, ,000S building on it and at once the lot becomes worth at least 5,000$. This is the argument of the single tax CTS that all tax be laid on the land, whether improved or unimproved, the unimproved to pay the same tax as the improved. This they claim, would com pei the fellow that holds unimproved property to make some effort to get something out of it. But in the min ing way this same proposition would put the prospector and small developer out of business.
 The taxing of mines is a question that will always be an aggravation to the mine owner, against whom all the other forms of property appear to have grievance. If the farmer or rancher was taxed on the same basis as the mine owner what vail would go up to high heaven. A farmer may produce values of 300$ per acre, but he pays taxes on the same land values as his neighbor, who produces only about 40S should not the two parcels of land be assessed on the value of their produc- tion. And at the same time the mine operator is paying wages from 3$ to 5$ per day for labor while the farmer is paying about 90$ per month, and gra- ciously allows his man to sleep in hundred acre lot under the blue canopy of heaven. It takes millions to build up mine to produce ore, and it only takes fencing and ditching to the value of less than 10S per acre to bring farm lands into the production class, and year by year these lands increase in value, while year by year the mine is being depleted of its value.
 We believe that every form of prop erty should meet tax, which in way guarantees them protection of the country and helps to support all that is good in the way of schools, the building of roads and bridges and the making of every section more fit for inhabitants. It costs money to maintain a govern ment and tax must be raised and ex- pense met in some way. Every one owning property feels that his par ticular property is being made the butt of the tax man, but it is the large property owners that really do not get hit as hard as the small fellow, because of the fact that the taxing powers are loathe to assess property on the equal basis with the little fellow. Take city property: A house and lot that are really worth 250S is on the roll for that amount, but house and lot that is worth 15, 000S will be found valued far below that figure; cattleman with 100 head of cattle gives it in at 100 head, while the man having 10000 head of cattle rarely gives in more than 25OO head. The tax man has the cinche on the mine owner and his property is more readily gotten at in value and he pays the tax.