Licking Valley courier. [volume] (West Liberty, Ky.) 19??-current, 1917-03-01

as drafted, the sole purpose o.
the revision is to wipe out thu
State debt and maintain a sur
plus in our treasury. The -pur
pose is commendable, but the
means they propose to emr 10y,
and the motive behind the Bill,
is an outrage on the ,taxra' ers
OF this Commonwealth. The
commission tries in the very out
set OF the bill to blindfold the
people by providing for a reduc-
tlon of our tax rate from 55 cents
to 40 cents on the one hundred
dollars. Anything tending to
reduce taxation appeals to the
taxpayer, and therefore thous-
ands will swallow the bait. In
the face of our four million dol
lars Indebtedness and our present
tax of 55 cents, the commission
tells you they intend to reduce
your tax rate Is cents on the
one hundred dollars, pay off the
Indebtedness of the State and
have a surplus always in the
treasury. The proposition looks
shaky to start with, for nowhere
in the proposed law will you find
a clause providing for an
economic reduction of the expense
OF our government. That being
true, how do they hope to reduce
our taxes, pay off our disgraceful
State debt and continue to run
our affairs of State at a vastly
increased cost? They attempt
to explain the miracle in their
report to Governor Stanley, and
in the attempt they unwittingly
divulge the underlying motive of
the bill under consideration. We
shall now see if their proposition
is a relief to the taxpayer and
whether or not it affords the re-
vision of taxation we need.
They start the bill by providing
for the creation of a permanent
tax commission consisting of
three members at an annual
salary of $4,000. 90 each, a Secre-
tary at an annual salary of So.
600, and ian additinal lump-sum|
appropriation of $2O,OOO,O0 per
year for travelling expenses,
clerk hire, etc. To this they add
by provision, an additional $10.-
OOO,OO per year for office furniture
and fixtures, printed forms and
other stationery and supplies;
they also provide for an annual
convention of Assessors to be
held at Frankfort at the expense
of the taxpayers, which will cost
them at least $4, 10000 per year,
making a total of approximately |
$50, 900. 90 to maintain the three
commissioners and their staff. |
CThe bill further provides
please note that the commission
ers shall reside at Frankfort. |
The supervisory power over the
assessment and valuation of all |
in the State, and it en-
powers them to place a valuation
on the property of each county
in the State, on which valuation
the tax is to be pro-rated by the
County Board of Supervisors
amongst the citizens of the re-
spective counties according to
their individual wealth. In other
words, you taxpayers have your
valued or assessed for
taxation by the State Board in
Frankfort. Elaborate ways and
means are provided for the COM
mission by which they are to
determine the value of property
in each county, and to that end |
the law empowers it and directs
it, when necessary, to hold long
and expensive Investigations,
and as a court to summon witness
es, examine county records, ap-
praise property, etc., all at the
expense of the taxpayers. They
can even examine your bank ac-
counts. your notes, mortgages,
bonds-in fact nothing can be
withheld from their inspection
and official scrutiny. Yourinner-
most business secrets become the
prosperity of this commission and
its agents. The bill also pro-
vides that where a property hold
er feels that his property has been
overvalued or too highly rated he
may file complaint with the