Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1915-08-11
Opinion of John r. Wood
ard, Tulsa City At
tolncy.
SHOULD BE TESTED
Several Reasons Why the
Law Is Unjus-
titled.

NNSobNAslllL 'llg NNN'lH HhN
Several automobile owners in
! Tulsa have asked me for an opinion
as to whether they should pay their
state tax on automobiles, as required
| by House Bin No. 1877, acts of the
| Oklahoma legislature, 1915. In reply
to such inquiries | have stated that it
| Is my opinion that the law above re
| fcrrcd too is unconstitutional in more
particulars than one, and that in case
the law Is tested any court haying
| jurisdiction Of the question would
have to hold the act invalid for sew
eral reasons, among them being the
following:
First: Article 10, Section s, Of the
| Oklahoma state constitution provides.
All property which may be taxed ad
valorcm shall be assessed for taxation
at its fair cash value, estimated at
the price it would bring at a fair
voluntary sale In my opinion the
! legislature has not imposed a license
upon automobiles in oklahoma - 4
thing which they might have done
but it has invented a new standard
of taxation. The law itself expressly
calls the assessment to be collected a
TAN in no less than four different
places and further provides that said
tax shall be In lieu Of all other taxes.
License Fee Tax.
|. "Whilo in a broad sense a license
fee may be regarded as a tax, there
is, properly speaking, and as gener-
ally understood, clear distinction
| between licensing and taxation and
between license fees and ordinary
taxes. License fees eXaCted for the
primary purpose of regulating or
restraining occupations deemed dan
la ha 10, D., i..I L.
in need of public control are imposed
in the exercise Of the police power
and not that Of taxation; and when
the object of the imposition is not to
raise revenue the fact that the fee
demanded is greater than the expense
of issuing the license, and therefore
does. in fact, produce revenue, is not
sufficient to make, il a tax. If, how
ever, the fee or charge is imposed
solely or primarily as a means Of
raising revenue it is a tax, regardless
Vi lle name py "hlcn may pe
~ is NV u9derstandin,r that tho
urinary nIIrnose NJ Tho Iav, .,ndo,. dis,
cussion Is Yo raise revenue for the
imnrovement of conntr,y rnads In ~
Iabona- varv nraiscwortb,, obiect
ana nno tbat should ho encouraoad
provided the same is done in Iogiti.
mate wav And conceding that tbis
is the nIirnose of our law 7under dis
cussion II is nIainIv secn to he a ta>
measure rafbfr tbon ono ipnosinag -
license IF we wish +o raise revanuc
for coed roads WHY NOT stav within
cur CONSTITUTIONAL limitations Is NOT
the ad vaIorem standard as fixed in
tho document which received com
r.liments of the great Ruu Moosrr
Pood euouqh to abide hv ar rnust we
have a new standard concocted in tho
stimulated mind OF an over-enfbusias-
tic IopisIator,e brain in order 70 havc
something now in OkIahomao Ts II
not nossibIe to tav an automobiIa nd
vaIorem inst as a niano or a drove .of
CottIeq Heretofore tho. tav assessor
did net seem to have much tr0mhIs in
ESTIMATING the value Of automobiles
for general taxes. Then is not an ad
valorem standard as fair and equal
as horsepower standard?
Another objection.
"s-econd. Anotbar nbiaction which
couId he raised 70 the state law in
ouestion ie Thai tho Same 10 NOT fair
and a,,naI in that mar wbo GUNS
an automobiIe at tho nresent time has
a higher rate of tayation imnosod
mon his ,horsonoyyer, tbap tba nan
a n "a q a
Wbv shouId mot a horsenower in the
veaT 1917 no taved iust as nucb ae
fhe same is taved f"r 19I59 WIN mis-
eIiding ecaIa for ~ fair rate9 0r In
Ctbor words ,yb5 noraIi1o tho mos.
emf oyvncr VIII, oreator b,irder thar
49, f,,t,,ro o,,,I,o. O.
,.rrLird. 70 a. ,,.o.sr,,o,,. -. foo
rrda, disc,,ssio,, T., nnt - tay an5 is
a Iicerso CON tbo Iagislatrro o,,n,,,r,t
a., 40 49, - - n,, tbaI,so,,1i ~
JoSlIa.s, t,.o.tb ~ n-dra,.t,, s,.lr,, ,-,n
',li +r.a,in, - ~. V,l 80,
,iti,.ioi srt,, ,V Sl.
,'I, ttiioy y ~, No.
der the laws of OkIahOmo are not
exempt from execution and levy for
debt. Why should they be exempt
from general taxes?
CIosso. or Machines
r,: =.
IoHI- MS u'W law uoeS NOT az