Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-01-15
WISCONSIN
PLAN BASIS
OF PROPOSAL
Commission Reporting to
Gov. Frazier Makes Income
Tax Recommendations.

Bismarck, n. D., Jan. IA sys-
tenn Of income taxation to be modelled
after the Wisconsin plan is the. prin-
cipal recommendation of the state tax
commission in its biennial report TO
Governor Frazier and the general as
sembly. The tax commission in this
connection says:
"a great many recipients Of sub
stantial incomes very largely escape
the tax burden. Professional men,
money lenders and those engaged In
similar occupations receive large In
comes and often have but little prop
erty; a large part of the property OF
the state is assessed but 20 per cent OF
its actual value, while other large
classes are assessed at 80 per cent.
An income tax should be levied upon
all property not assessed at 80 per
cent Of the actual value, and included
in Glass / of the classification act. A
duplicate Of the rAturns made by the
property-owner to the federal govern
ment' under the income tax should be
required to be returned to the state
tax commission, and a low tax rate
levied on the income as~certained
therefrom." H..
The leagues income tax bill as orig
ina1ly drawn provided for a tax OF one
per cent Of net incomes of $1,000 per
annum, with an ascending scale up
to 10 per cent on net incomes Of $10,-'
900. This would mean thai the clerk
or stenographer earning $1,000 net
would pay $40 per year, while the
executive whose net income was $1O,-
600 would. contribute $4,000 to the
good of the cause. 1t is probable.
however, that this schedule will be
modified at both ends, the schedule
beginning lat Ia of one per cent on
low incomes and terminating with a
lower percentage of taxation on the
higher incomes, which in this state
run to the altitude of a quarter-mil-
lion or more. SO far as known there
is not a single million-dollar income
in North Dakota, this being a lane OF
the common people.
The tax commission also would
have a more equal distribution of the
public utility tax, contending that fed
eral communities which contribute
quite as much as the counties through
which railways and other utilities u
now do not share in the revenue from
these utilities. The tax commission
urges that the tax of these utilities be
paid into the treasury Of the state
and allotted to local government di-
visions upon some equable basis.
The tax commission would abolish
the Office Of township OF district as
SCISSOR n substitute therefor a coun-
ty assessor to be appointed by the
state tax commission for a term OF
not less than four years; would
lengthen the period of assessment,
and create county assistants to aid In
the work. Apt-
The tax commission comes back at
State Auditor Kositzky, who wants the
tax board abolished, with a counter
proposal that the state board OF
equalization. which is n of the audi
tors pets, be given the eternal XII
bosh, and that the tax commission be
made the sole tax distributing body:
The commission says: "The work OF
equalization is highly technical and
requires the work of experts. The tax
commission is equipped with the ex-
pert knowledge to accomplish this
work" The tax board would make
its chairman secretary Of the equali'
cation board in place Of the state
auditor, and would have all assess
ments and taxation reports now going