Arizona republican., 1917-02-10
TAX BOARD STARTS MOVE AIMED AGAINST
 MAIL ORDER HOUSES
Would Put Corporations on
 Parity With Local Houses
 Which are Forced to Pay Taxes to State and City

talks.
 First steps were taken yesterday by the state tax commission to impose tax upon mail order houses doing busi- ness in Arizona, if such thing is le- gally possible. In a communication addressed to Wiley E. Jones' attorney general the state tax commission asks for an opinion covering this point and 1t may be possible that the step will prove of such importance that federal legislation will be needed to make the course desired possible.
 The letter to the attorney general is as follows:
 This commission has had in mind for some time the question of levying and collecting a tax of some nature from the numerous mail order houses doing business in Arizona.
 Will you kindly inform the commis- sion whether it would be possible to enact a state law requiring that license tax be paid by mail order houses whose place of business is in another state, and who sell merchandise in Ari- zona in competition with local mer- chants who are taxed. In this connec- ton it will be necessary to consider the interstate commerce feature, well as the United States postal regulations of the business being transacted, as we'll as the ability of the state to enforce any license tax of this nature that it might enact. Very truly yours,
 STATE TAX COMMISSION,
 ID. G. HENDERSON, Secretary"
 Whether or not the state tax commis- sions of the various commonwealths shall have the power to enact laws i'm posing taxes on foreign merchants, especially those conducting mail order business, is the matter on which the Arizona commission is seeking enlight- enment. It is recognized by the com mission that mail order houses are protected to large extent by the inter- state commerce law and government postal regulations. For this reason, it is argued, constitutional amendments and postal regulation reforms should be adopted to empower the respective state legislatures to protect home merchants.
 Under present conditions the large mail order houses of the east are largely patronized by Arizona residents, it being estimated that this mail order business exceeds the S1000 900 mark annually. Arizona merchants who pay taxes to the various cities and counties in which they are located as well as state taxes, are placed at a disad- vantage.
 It is the contention of the Arizona corporation commission that some pro- lection should be afforded the home merchants or that these mail order houses should be required to pay taxes such as the merchants doing business in the state have to pay.
 With present regulations mail order houses located outside of the state are not required under federal regulations. to pay taxes except in the state in which the home offices are located
 Members of the Arizona commission have devised various methods of as- sessing taxes against these mail order houses, but on investiga ton it has been found that practically all were in violation of federal regulations gov erning interstate shipments of postal business. It was at first thought that it might be possible to seize the com modities being shipped into the state. but it was found, on investigation. that this would be a violation of the postal regulations
 Another plan, which it is thought might possibly worked with success, Is to seize the catalogues shipped into Arizona by freight and levy a tax be- fore anyone is allowed to remove them from the cars. The only objectionable feature to this procedure is that the cdldioe ues are Ndlueless to anyone eX- cept the mail order houses, and should the various companies become mulish ana refuse to pay the tax, the state commission would have several thou- sand worthless catalogues on it's hands Then, too, the mail order houses might send these catalogues by mail, in which case the state would be robbed of it's only possible source of revenue
 There are many other angles to be considered in attempting to collect a tax rom the mail order houses. but the Arlzona commission is satisfied that some protection should be afforded the Arlzona merchants and to successfully levy and collect such taxes it is gen erally agreed that federal regulations will be necessary.