The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1915-07-16

ment is again ratified by the voters
, in the November Election.
The Amendment as is now pretty
well understood merely gives the
General Assembly power to divide
property in classes, but in the event
of lower rate being fixed upon per.
sonal property than upon real estate
any new law must be submitted to
the people before it can be enforced.
In Illinois where a similar Amend
nfent will be voted on this fall the
referendum clause was left out as it
was assumed that future Legisla-
lures could handle the question effec-
lively and could inform themselves
quicker and better than the entire
population of the. State.
Nearly every candidate for office
has expressed himself as favorable to
a change in the Tax Laws but so far
but few have indicated what kind of
change they prefer.
]
almost unanimously agreeing to sub
nit the Amendment permitting
classification left no doubt as to
/ their views but the members had
been elected then and could afford
to come out in the open.
The long standing stock argument
of the stump speaker that classical
/ ton of property means less taxes for
( the owners of securities and more
on real estate has been effectually
exploded, but it sounds well and
there are some who still believe in
I it.
If, as shown by the last Tax Com
missions report, Real Estate and
other tangible property pays ninety
per cent and intangible personally
only ten per cent, the reduction in
the rate on the latter would cut but
small figure in the revenue any
way, but as a matter of fact by clas-
styling such property and taxing it
az in other States, in proportion 10
it's earnings, the revenue has been
vastly increased and the taxes on
Real Estate actually lowered.
1t is like developing an. entirely
new source of revenue.
In Minnesota under the old law,
such as we have in Kentucky, there
were only six thousand people on
the Tax rolls who listed certain kinds
of intangible personally at fourteen
millions, but within a few years af-
ter the change to classification sew
enty three thousand people listed
such property at two hundred mill
lions, and the revenue has been in
creased 1900 per cent and the taxes
on real estate already reduced in
that State.
The experience of other States
could be quoted indefinitely but there
are none so blind as those who will
not see and when the State debt, now
over three million dollars, climbs
few millions more and some desper-
ate legislation is essayed. as happen
ed recently in Kansas where the as
sessment of Real Estate was increas-
ed from 27O millions to 1873 mil
lions at one fell swoop then per-
haps the people will wake up and de-
s.,c in, To
In the meantime the millions of
taxable personally in hiding and es-
Gaping all Taxation will be harder
to locate, IL it is not driven away en-
tirely, and real estate will have the
additional load to carry because it
cannot be hidden or moved away. If
classification works well in other
States why should it not prove suo-
cessful in Kentucky?
Because people refuse to pay a
confiscatory tax and complacently
perjure themselves to escape is no
reason why they would not prefer to
contribute reasonable and. in the
aggregate, a large amount 10 save
their self-respect If nothing more
and especially when 1t relieves the
load on their Real Estate.
The Office seeker who lodges the
issue is no friend Of the people and
II he is laboring under lack of
knowledge let him get the Reports
of the Tax Commissions in Michigan,
Wisconsin. Minnesota. Indiana and
Kansas and see how those and other
States have profited by change or
lost by timidity respecting Tax Re-
forms.
Our own State Tax Commission
says the Law in Kentucky is "inade-
quate. unfair and unequal" and sew
eral Legislatures have condemned /
II.
The Tax Amendment is but a
step forward and merely blazes the
-.