The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1915-05-04
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sible qualifications of the policy OF
State Revenue Agent J. c. Johnson
who has presented claims against cot
ton men for six years, for cotton held
prior to February L in each OF the
years, has wide breadth and one which
may react to the detriment of the
state and render thousands of dollars
worth of property useless. If these
claims are forced on cotton men, it
means that no more warehousing will
be done at concentration points in the
state and that all cotton will ibe as
sembled at warehouses in other states,
with New Orleans and Mobile as a
possible general Concentration point.
This will mean the Abandonment of
large cotton congresses all over the
state and the loss of thousands of dol
lars in revenue. go
The state revenue agent mas de-
clared that he does not expect to Sc
cure $4,000 out of the claims for back
taxes on cotton. However, he has al
ready presented claims to thessuper-
visors and city council in Hindst eeun-
ty against Threefoot Brothers & Co.,
of Meridian on about $780, 0Gsworth
of cotton said to have been purchased
in Jackson and warehoused in that
city. The claim, it is understood, is
only part of the claims to be made by
the revenue agent and will cost the
cotton men thousands of dollars in at
torneys' fees and in all probability
they will be able to show that the cot
ton was merely in transit and not
held for speculation in any way. what
soeYer.
- 1t appears that gthe law has reacted
and is working exactly to the opposite
for which it was drafted. Theomeas-
ure, it is believed, was passed by the
Legislature in an effort to prevent the
holding of cotton in the interior and
force it to the market by placing a
tax on it. Now the law has reacted
and those who it formerly benefited
seem to be the ones who are suffer
ing.
Under the law of Mississippi farm
er is not taxable for farm products.
Cotton is a farm product and there
fore not taxable The minute cotton
leaves the hands OF the farmer who
grew it, however, it appears that it
Immediately takes on a tax value, if
the construction of the law is inter
preted Alright.
Another interesting fact is just
where does the state itself come in
on the question Every year thou
sands of bales of cotton are raised on
the state convict farms and if the cot
ton owned by other Mississippians is
taxable surely the cotton owned by
the state comes under the same head
and would present the rather ludi-
crous situation of the state taxing
itself for its own production. The
state, however, reserves the right not
70 tax itself, but this does not remove
the competition with the farmer and
puts the state in the light of produc,
ing competition with no cost to itself
and tax for the citizens. The courts
have already held, In the dispensary
cases. that the state cannot follow a
commercial pursuit which it denies its
its citizens.
So far as the law itself is concern
ed, it is called vicious in every par
ticular. 1t will mean the loss of thou
sands of dollars to the state and a
complete revolution In the warehous
ing of cotton. In fact cotton interests
have already considered the shipment
of cotton out OF the state ss. soon as
1t is purchased and concentrating il
at town outside the state. where
ihere is no tax on the st&pie. This
would In q measure, facilitate the
movement Of cotton and would prob.
ably aid the exporter. inatnuch as
b. would have his cotton At bort ready