The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-11-01
REPORT OF STATE
T TAX AXCOMMISSION
GOES TOGOVERNOR.
Extra Session of General
Assembly co Be Held
in January.
LAST SECTION DEALS WITH
TAXATION OF RAILROADS
Minority Favors Limited Form
of Segregation as Solution
of Tax Problem.
GROSS INEQUALITIES SHOWN
With Honest Assessment Throughout
State, Tax Rate Could Be
Cut in Half.
GROSS INEQUALITIES SHOWN
State, Tax Rate Could Be
Cut in Half

SuG
Formal announcement that the State
Tax Commission had completed Its
work and adjourned was made at s
o'clock yesterday afternoon by Clerk
w. c. Williams. of the commission.
when a final statement was Issued
in bulletin form, dealing with rail-
road taxation as recommended In the
report. The complete report was sub
mitted to the Governor early in the
afternoon. nearly five hours before
the final bulletin was issued
AS indicated In the vote taken by
the commission on Wednesday,. the
report contemplates an equalization OF
assessments through the medium OF
n central commission. the Tax Com
mission having rejected a plan for par
tial segregation by a vote of Z to 3
1t Is expected that minority report
prepared by Messrs. Buchanan. Dono-
hoe and Weaver will favor partial
scgregation-that ia to say. tho set
ting apart of the real estate and per-
sonal property taxes entirely to the
local communities, which must then
bear their own criminal and other ex-
penses. with the segregation to the
State alone of certain railway and
other forms of taxation for the sup
port OF the State government.
REPORT AS FILED IS
yOLUMINOUS DOCUMENT
The report deals with every phase OF
State taxation. Among the interesting
features is n recommendation that the
State abolish all but one commissioners
of the revenue for each county. At
present there are as many as FIVE COM
missioners of the revenue In some OF
the larger counties.
Adjustment Of the land grabbers'
law. now in vogue, and the substitu.
ton of system by which real estate
upon which taxes are delinquent, may
oe sold by regular lchancery proceed.
irgs to satisfy tax liens on the same
basis with, other liens or judgments. is
also recommended, d,
Il Changes in the tax levied on retail
merchants, of whom there are more
than 1900 in the State, are recon-
mended. More than half OF the num-
her reported last year that their pur-
cliases of stock annually had fallen be-
low $1,000
INCREASES TAX ON
RETAIL MERCHANTS
Tho report recommends that the
minimum tax on retail merchants be
increased from $5 to $40. A fat tax OF
So to be Imposed by the State on all
retail merchants for stock purchases In
excess of $4,000 Is prescribed. IT Is
recommended that the tax on whole
$1,000 afttr passing the $4,000 mark.
Building and loan companies are
placed on n fiat rate of So on every
$1,000 OF capital stock. The tax on
these companies. under the present law.
Is graded. The recommendation for tax
on sick benefit companies is per cent
Of the gross premium incomes collected
in Virginia, with State rate OF 2h
per cent on gross premium incomes. Tax
on fire. casualty. health and accident
companies is placed In the report at
2Z per cent, oil to be collected by the
state and one-half of / per cent to be
reunited to the localities In which the
policies are written. The commission
recommends the abollshment OF all 9TH
er forms of insurance taxes.
No change is recommended in the
present system of taxing the fish and
oyster Industries in the State
Building and loan associations, the
report recommends, should be placed
OH the same footing, all paying fiat
rate of SO on each 81 600 Of capital
stock. The graded system now obtains,
and complaint was made to the Tax
Commi ssion that under the present
form the smaller concerns paid greater
taxes in proportion than the larger
ones.
PROVISIONS AS TO
TAXATION OF RAILROADS
The section of the report as to rail-
road taxation, follows:
For the year 1919 the railroads Of
Virginia paid In taxes $2,227.02615. OF
this amount, s1,24s,620.35 was paid to
Commonwealth itself-about ID rer cent
of it's total revenue. OF this last
amount, s629,000 is represented by the
franchise tax of l per centum of, the
gross earnings of the roads. apportioning
Virginia's part upon the basis Of mile
In Vtrtr MI IN hn m ta1 mil 10 on
operated; and the remaining 100000
Is obtained from the 3o-cent State ratio
on the trackage, rolling stock and other
physical property assessments made by
the State Corporation Commission.
Many people think railroads are taxed
only on rolling stock. and certain
physical valuation OF so much per mile
for each mile OF track, fixed by the
State Corporation Commission. They
know that this trackage value Is much
measured in miles Therefore. they
think that railroad property is as
sesscd at far below its true. value.
When the franchise tax Is added. how
ever, and comparisons made between
the estimated true value of real estate
and the estimated true value of rail-
roads. and the total amount Of taxes
received from each basea upon the
same rates, 1t Will be seen that on an
average the railroads pay slightly more
taxes than real estate on like true
values. The average assessment on
real estate is 402 per cent OF Its
true value. The Investigations OF tn
committee and the calculations accom-
panying its report show that the per-
centagc of total assessment on rail-
roads to true value Is somewhat higher;
and further show that the inequali-
ties in assessment are likewise nearly
as wide.
COULD REDUCE RATE te.s3.
WITH HONEST ASSESSMENT
\ "The average total tax rate for all
purposes in Virginia Is s149 on the
500. To raise the same amount of