Bisbee daily review., 1915-02-04
STAPLEY ADMITS HE Is NOW CONVINCED
 MINE TAX Is JUST


 at first, Senator Stapley in a speech in the senate frankley admitted that on investigation and with the amer, mente adopted he considered it a just measure an dgave it his hearty sup port. In part his speech follows:
 Mir President: Before coming to this session of the legislature was more or less preiudiced against this so-called mine tax bill, and | thought the people representing the same were trying to keep from paying their just amount of axes and after
 ining the bill carefully I find that it is not so and especially after the amendments that have been offered
 nd passed upon by this body I be- lieva that it is just and right.
 There i sa chance for many of us 10 be mistaken and feel that all bus mess interests of our state should be taken into consideration before this. body. l feel that the mining inter- ests should have a square deal as well as the railroads the farmers. the cat tie interests and others. And wish to elll your attention to the taz com missioners report on page twelve. LNere it stares that the mines for tie year 1915 paid SIP per cent of all of ,he state taxes and also on page tHi~ty-three of tlc same report find that the mines paid 35.7 per cent of the taxes of tho state
 This being true, and am not going to contradict it and after examining tt,s bill. as stslec above and given i1 understand that the taxes W.ll not iedminished by the passing O fthis bulI believe that the tax paid by them is just proper ano right. Also from thi statement l find that the state of Arizona is taxed upon all of its prop ty for school purposes and they raise $500.00O eacn year for this pur pose, and mark you, the mines pay over one-thire of this taxation. One hundred and two thousand and some odd hundred dollars was paid out of this fund for text books for the schools of this whole state, the balance of it reyerts back into the school funds of the different counties And l find, by examining the tax commissioners report that numbers of these coun- ties have gotten back more from the school tax for the state than they paid in, and Maricopa county es- pecially.
 You will note, also, that when the mines are prosperous that the farm CTS are prosperous. ! have lived in this county for thiCty-three years, and find this to be the case. And I know that if the mines in this state are producing they are also at the same time consuming the products of the farm, and the more mines we can get the more products will be used from the farm lands more vluable, and at the same time giving us a greater tax able wealth from all other resources, because hwen the mines are prosper ous the farms will market products enormously and these would all work Tremendously together
 And Mir PresIdent. find that there seems to be an erroneous idea over the state in regard to this mine tax bin in how it pays its tax. find that that they on all of the improve ments on their mine. regardless of production This includes everything
 buildings, machinery, hoists and all other paraphernalia that can be as sessed by an assessor of a county. and all products of the mines assessed twelve per cent of their gross pro duction and four times the net. This is something that l never knew be- fore, and it seems to be just and fair.
 Now there seems to De a howl go- ing up from all over the state that taxes are too high which l will ad- init. but at the same time remember | ing that We have the University of Arizona, the two state normal schools. the industrial schools and many oth- ] CTS organizations that have to be talk en care of by the state besides keep ing up all Of the government of the state, that they cannot have much of a howl from the state tax rate. which is forty-four and one-half cents on the hundred dollars. l wish to call your attention that the rate Of 1 Maricopa county is forty-nine and one-half cents and the school tax in my district is fftynine cents. cents which makes rate of S1O8 1-2 in this county from the district where ! ] reside Also the cities and towns have bonded themselves practically to the limit for school purposes and other improvements, until they have l saddled burden upon themselves and their children and forced the tax rate SO high that if has brought about this commotion that the state funds are being handled ineffiicently when ] think if they would look more closely to home they would find the tax rate in their own county out of reason and the state tax rate not so bad If the men who hold positions In our state institutions and county ! institutions would be more careful ! in regard to the handling of the funds i f