Bisbee daily review., 1915-02-14

of the contents of mine The life a mine can only be guessed at We only kno wthat 1t is limited We also know that each year productive mine is worth less than it the before and that next year it will be worth still less Students of taxation therefore have generally agreed that mines be fairly taxed only upon their production, their income
 But here, another problem presents itself Should the tax upon the income of a mine be equal to cnat upon the income from other classes of property? The mines Arizona, during the last two years have paid smaller percentage Of their incomes than other property have paid about S7OoOO0 s19OOOOOO But the mines point out that the property yielding this great income is constantly decreasing in value steadily approaching the vanishing point where there will be income at all while the values of rail roads and most other classes of property are steadily growing in value Against this argument of the mine growers is the undsputed statement that other great industry yields great profit the investment
 We mention these various views only to illustrate the compexity of the mine tax question which given temporary solution in this state years Under
 law providing for taxing mines their production they paid more than onethird of the of the state that s they paid a little more than 96 per cent oi all tie taxes The mine owners said that that toe
  other casses of property were generally satisfied.
 The Republican, therefore, favors the continued ap plication ot the principle by which the mines the last That principle is contained in the BaconGraham bill though. as the bill has beer drawn we are sure, and do not think that an5 body is quite sure yet that will distribute the burder of taxation in the proportions it has been distr buted during the years. The same factors ar+ proposed 12l5 per cent of the gross production anc four times the net But know that the gross pro auction will not be as large it has been either of tho last two years the will be still further redocec by new and we believe correct of arriving at il
 It is therefore our opinion that there should be change in the factor for finding the multiple Of the net that it should not be less than 4ls whatever factor may be necessary give the mines taxable valuation that will place upon least heavy share of the burden as they bore in 1913 and 1914
 According to Mir Dowen. the statisucan of the Cop yer Queen Consolidated Mining company, whose state meHt was recently printed in The Republican, the ts2 from the mines produced by this bill. (adding to the assessment the valuation of improvements within tLe last year) would fall far below the tax of the las TWO gears Mir Doweu estimates reduced valuation of all other classes property except livestock of 10 pc cent 90 that according to his figures and estimate t mines share of the taxes under the bill would be SS be- cent Of all the state taxes. We do think that Chi percentage is too large.
 This bill is designed to become permanent law for the of the mines to that end the price fer computing the value of the product is the tenyear ar craze instead of price the previous year under the temporary bnI. This seems eminenty just ard far arrangement better for both the state and the mines avoids nucgations in the volume Of the taxes con- seluent upon annual fluctuations in prices.
 We believe that such legislation will meet the ap proval of great majority the people Of the state aAo are not interested fads and politics who bear no enseess animosity against the large mining 2on aaes and who recognize that the prosperity of the mines depends a very large measure the prosperity of agriculture and every other Arizona industry.