The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1919-04-03

A0CLSN 4OE ILL III Lie OIaIS VI
North Dakota would be increased from
$21,OO0,0OO in 1918 to $40,000,OO in
1919, and that the amount Of taxes
paid by individual citizens would be
doubled, are proved false by a detailed
statement Of the North Dakota tax
commission which shows that the total
increase in taxes for all purposes will
be less than 100000 In 1919 and that
this means the average farmer will
only be called upon to pay 1851 a
quarter section more than he paid in.
1918.
The tax commission thoroughly ana
.lyzes the situation and utterly refutes
unsubstantiated charges given out by
State Auditor Kositzky and reprinted
broadcast by the newspapers which
have been fighting the farmers move
ment. The figures Of the tax commits
sion are absolutely accurate and their
conclusions cannot be successfully
challenged. Opponents to the Non
partisan league have not dared openly
to attack the elevator and -four mill,
the state hail insurance act, the home
builders bill, or the Bank of North
Dakota, for they realize these meas
ures are meritorious and are desired
by a majority of the people, but in
order to create prejudice and arouse
hostility to the Nonpartisan league
program they have attempted q flank
attack and are directing most Of their
criticism at the taxation program of
the last legislature.
Tax Bogy Used.
Nearly everyone pays taxes and
most persons are quick to resent any
stiff increase in this burden. There
fore, If the opposition car make the
people Of the state feel the taxes will
be much higher as a result of the
legislation. passed at the last session
they will be more likely to induce peo-
pie to sign the referendum petitions.
This Is the secret Of the attack on the
league taxation measures, but in their
anxiety to alarm as many persons as
possible they have over played their
hand and made statements which are
contradictory. For instance, the Fargo
Forum and the Grand Forks Herald
and other organs Of special privilege
have told the farmers that the legisla-
ture enacted laws which would con-
nscate their land and on the other
hand these papers at the same time
were telling the people Of the cities
that the farmers of the legislature
were e1empting themselves from their
Just part Of the taxation. Obviously
both Of these statements could not be
true and It II possible to demonstrate
~conclusively that neither Of them are
true.
Did Not Toll Truth.
The Grand Forks Herald and the
Fargo Forum have made repeated as.
sertions that the total tax to be col
lected in North Dakota In 1919-that
Is, taxes for local, school, road, county
and state pWposes-would run as high
rs $40,OO0,O0O annually. Last year the
state, county, school, road and local
taxes were approximately $2O,OOO,000.
90 that IL the Forum and Herald are
telling the truth the taxes paid by the
people would be approximately doubled.
That, Of course, would be q very seri.
GUS matter, far in some cases 1t might
actually result In confscation, but it is
easy to show these charges have not
the slightest foundation of fact.
Only One Method.
There is only n method Of levying
4 general property tax and that
method applies to city, county school
and road district and state affairs.
That Is, for the city council, the county
commissioners and the school or road
district board, O. the state legislature
to first make appropriations. In other
words the legislative board must first
draw up a budget and when the
amount Of expenditures are decided
upon according to that budget then the
valuation Of the taxing district IL de.
termined by the board Of equalization
and the rate OF that levy Is fixed SO
that It will raise an amount In taxes
equal to the appropriation. That Is
how city, county and school taxes are
raised and state, taxes are fixed In
exactly the same ann In all cases
the appropriation governs the amount
Of taxes and the state cannot possibly
collect any taxes that are not provided
Tor by some appropriation act of the
.legislature-except that an additional
tar mast be levied to raise interest and
to create interest on and to create q
sinking fund for state Indebtedness.
False statements.
The Forum and the Herald declare,
the total tax for state purposes alone
would run between fourteen and
eighteen million dollars each year.
These statements are shown to be
false and preposter0us when It Is con
aidered that the appropriations made
Nv the last legislature only aggregated
50, OO,284.W for the biennial period
IN other words the legislature only
appropriated $4,550,000 for each year,
and yet these papers have the effron.
terry to maintain that the state admin
ntration Is going to raise between,
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. IN 4 aHNl $500 LS - n