The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1918-07-27

there should be no power lodged any
where to Te-assess property. There
must be an end to the demands of
the tax collector. The citizen must
know that when he pays the taxes
assessed against specific property his
obligation to the state as to that prop
erty is fully discharged. When prop
erty is listed for taxation, its assess
ment fixed by the county board of
equalization and by the state board,
however constituted, and the desig-
mated amount Of taxes paid, all power
and authority of the state to levy
tribute upon that property should be
at an end, just as is the case when
suit passes through all the courts
and is finally determined, all parties
are precluded from relitigating the
same questions. The issue in each
case is finally determined by that
governmental agency which has been
given the power to pass upon i. ]
do not here refer to cases where
property entirely escapes taxation,
because it is manifest that justice
requires in such instances that such
property be assessed whenever dis
covered, otherwise a premium would
be placed upon the cunning and in
genuity of the tax dodger in procur-
ing his property to be omitted from
the assessment roll.
There is available to the state of
Tennessee source of revenue which,
in my Judgment, has not been ade-
quately developed by the General AS
sembly in its assessment and revenue
statutes. ! refer to the power of the
state to exact a tag upon inheritances
the rate increasing with the size of
the estate, and also varying between
estates passing to the direct descend
ants or to the collateral kindred of
the decedent. During the biennial
period of 1915-1916 there was paid
into the state treasury from this
source the sum of 1921, 957.18. Judg-
ing from the revenue so derived by
other progressive states, it is safe to
say that we may very largely increase
our revenue from inheritances and
still be we'll under the rates and ex-
actions levied in such states.
Collection Of State Revenues.
More stringent regulations should
be provided for the collection Of all
state revenues. The present plan of
examination Of the books of collect
ing officers by the revenue agents at
uncertain and irregular intervals is
wholly unsatisfactory, and should
give way to systematic and thor
ough audit within stated periods by
an officer of the state as far removed
as possible from political influence.
Illustrative of the necessity Of such
legislation, it may be observed that
the reports of the comptroller indi-
cate that the Act passed some years
ago placing district attorneys on sal
aries, ard requiring the fees collect
ed by them under the old law to be
paid into the state treasury, has prov
en- to be disappointment so far as
a financial benefit to the state is con-
cerned. These fees fall far short of
paying the salaries of those officials
and their assistants. For instance,
the reports show that for the biennial
period of 1915-1916, one judicial cir
cult yielded to the treasury from this
source only $4,000, another $825.00,
and still another $963.00-in each
case for the same period the district
attorney receiving $5,000.00. AL
though one county for that period
reports $963.00, smaller county for
the samee period and on the same ac-
count paid into the treasury the sum
of $8,595.46. :, Such a wide differ
ence in results shows that a condi-
ton exists somewhere that can and
must be corrected. 1t should be
stated in this connection that no crit
icism is here intended of the district
attorneys in the districts referred to
because it is no part of their duty to
make these collections or see that
they are turned into the treasury of
the state. This is only one out of
many instances that might be men
toned where the state loses heavily
because of lack of stringency in our
collection statutes and the conse-
quent failure in making collections.
Place Officials On Salaries.
More or less intimately connected
with this subject is the fact yet to
be developed as to what revenue the
state is to derive from the passage
by the General Assembly Of 1917 of
the Act placing all officials in the
large counties upon salaries. 1t was
the belief and expectation of the Gen
eral Assembly that large sum of
money would be collected from this
source, and it -should be the purpose
of the next administration to see that
the state and the counties affected
receive the full benefit of this whole
some statute.
An increased amount of revenue
should be derived from the operation
of the states penal institutions. This
may reasonably be expected, because
on April 1st, next, lease contracts,
entered into when labor was cheap,
will terminate, and these leased con-
victs who now earn less than Is cents
each, net, per day, will be thrown
back upon the state to be used in
some profitable employment from
which the state should derive con-
siderable income. About the same
number of convicts employed in min
ing coal at Petros during the year
1917 made net profit of $470, 900,
while from the leased convicts little
more than $4,000 was realized.
These leased convicts should be so
employed as to realize much larger
sum than heretofore. The states
financial condition and the increased
demand for coal combine to make it
advisable to use so many Of the con-
victs as may be deemed expedient in
mining coal during the continuation
of the labor shortage and the high
prices of coal, but for various reas-
ons many of them cannot be so en-
ployed; these must be used in other
EalJr - I,Lo- G. a.. L