The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-02-12
Levy According to Engine
Power, Sen. Kimball Proposal.
Bill Would Compel Counties To
Use Money for Hard Roads.
WOULD TRIPLE STATE INCOME
Counties Not Building Perma-
nent Highways Lose Share.
Would Furnish S2,OOO,O0O a
Year for the Work.

Taxing automobiles according to
their horse power and requiring coun-
ties to engage in permanent highway
construction or not get the benefits
of half of the revenue derived from
the automobile tax, are the sweeping
provisions of a bill introduced in the
senate today by Paul H. KimbaH, or
Labette. The passage of the bill would
Practically treble the income derived
from automobile owners and kiInball
believes it would prove the greatest
permanent highway stimulus the state
has ever known.
Under the present law every auto
mobile owner is required to pay five
dollars year for his license tag. OF
this sum four dollars and fifty cents
is kept by the county to be used in
general road work without any pro-
visions for permanent road building
and the balance is sent to the secre-
tary of state for the purpose of paying
the expenses of maintaining the auto
mobile department.
The Kimball bill provides that own
ers of cars pay so cents a year on
every horse power of their engines
and that all of the money be sent in
to the state officials. Enough to run
the automobile department will be re-
tanned and the balance will be placed
in special funds to be returned to the
of the amount to be returned may be
used in general road work, but the
other half will be returned to the
county from which it came only upon
the condition that it be spent in per-
manent highway construction. In the
event a county is not engaged in per-
manent highway construction it is
provided that the money to be used
for this purpose may be apportioned
among the counties that are so en-
gagged.
Stimulate Road Building.
Kimball believes this feature will
encourage and stimulate every county
in the state to highway construction
and one of the big features of the BILL
he says, is the fact that it will be pos
sible to use the license tag money for
highway construction at once. Under
the plans of the State Good Roads as
soeiatien providing for a constitutional
amendment that would permit the
state to engage in highway construc-
ton and use this money it would be
three years before a permanent high
ways program could be started. Kim
ball does not propose to interfere with
the plans of those who want the state
to engage in road construction but he
hopes to make it possible to go for
ward with the construction work while
a constitutional change is being
i sought.
Would Triple Tax Income.
The horse power tax will practically
triple the income derived under the
present system. At present every car
| owner pays SIS a year while under the
new system it is figured the average
tax will be between $12 and SIS. 1t is
| realized that this will be quite an item
to a large number of automobile own
ers but as they will derive all of the
| benefits from it Kimball does not ex-
pect a great amount of kicking. He
also points out that it is much fairer
| to the cost of his car than for a Ford
and Packard owner to have to pay
| the same tax
| There were $4,000, license tags
| issued by the state automobile depart
] ment during the year ending June 80
| 1918, and figuring on this basis at ar
average tax of $12 a car the Kimball
| bill would give the counties of the
state more than two million dollars a
/ year for road work, one-half of which
would be used in building permanent
| highways. However, the state depart
ment has already issued more thar
1900 tags for the year that will enc
! on the thirtieth of next June, and it Is
expected that the total will reach
100000 by that time, so the amount to
be expended by the counties will be
much larger.
Would Help Shawnee,
Shawnee county last year received
| approximately $4,000 for road work
and under these figures this county
would be entitled to $4,000 yeal
for the construction of permanent
highways and about the same amoun
for general road work However
these figures will be much enlarged by
the end of next June, it is said.