The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-08-27

MontSo mery, August 26.-(Speclal.)
! Only by the widest stretch of magma
ton could the present legislature sit
| ting at Montgomery be classed as
friend of the corporations. The pending
revenue bill stands out pre- eminently as
| anti-corporation.
TO begin with, the house struck down
all exemptions granted by former legis-
latures to ship building, water power,
cyanamid. cotton mills and other indus
trial corporations and imposes heavy
| taxes on their franchises privileges and
capital shares and levies an ad va
! loren tax on all their property at the
same rate required of other property
In addition to that the lower house at
tempted to impose other taxes upon
| them in the way of production taxes
Had the bill passed by the house been
enacted into law, the corporations en-
gagged in mining coal or iron in Ala
| bama would have been required to paw
a franchise tax, privilege tax, income
tax, excess profits tax, ad valorem tax
and production or tonnage tax-seven
different taxes in all.
Not only would corporations have been
compelled to pay 60 cents on each 800
of paid-up capital stock, but the owners
of the capital shares in such corpora
ton would have been compelled to pay
60 cents on each 500 of such stock held
by them based on the reasonable cash
value of such shares.
The senate restored the exemptions to
industrial concerns and retained all the
forms of taxation except the excess prof
It's tax. 1t can be seen from the above
| that the corporations would pay con-
siderable proportion of the total taxes
| of the state.
The solvent credits provision of the
revenue bill was a football with which
J both houses took turns. The original bill
| ton.
| The house first struck 1t out then re-
stored it, reconsdered their action later
and several other discussions, amend
ments and votes finally left the exemp-
| ton clause in. Similar action was taken
with reference to money deposited in
bank, with the same result.
The senate was equally uncertain or
these two propositions. The exemption
clauses were stricken out by the finance
and taxation committee, restored and
| the committee of the whole reversed it.
| self two or three times with the result
that the exemptions were in the BIZ
when finally adopted by the senate ana
| sent to the house.
|
| credits exemption clause in the tw3
houses at least eight or ten amendments
were offered, several of them accepted
and finally the clause left as originally
I drawn.
This vacillating policy was true Of sew
eral other provisions of the bill, some
| of the sections undergoing radical
changes and others remaining in the
completed bill practically as in the orig
| inal draft
DOUBT ABILITY TO COLLECT
| In its present form. it is doubted by
! some of the able lawyers who have ex-
amined the revenue bill that income
! taxes can be collected from individuals.
| firms or corporations engaged in eS-
| tracing wealth from the ground or
| from resources taken from the ground.
1t is claimed that under a constitu-
| tional provision no tax can be imposed
| on incomes derived from property on
| which the ad valorem tax is paid. If
| this construction is correct, producers
| of coal manufacturers of iron, limb ar
products, clay, cement, lime, graphite
| and other minerals and forest products
cannot be required to pay the tax on
incomes derived from the production
| or manufacture of these items. That
being true. if it is true, only the sal
| aried and professional man would re-
main to pay the income tax
| This Interpretation of the constitu-
| ton, however. is not accepted by the
advocates of the income tax.
AS originally drawn, the income tax
| chapter provided that the income tax
should be paid on all incomes from
| whatever source except ANY debt or
| hire of real or personal property while
owned by the landlord or hirer during
the current year of such rental or
hire" The house amended this clause
oil a dc re-
| eeived from the rent or hire or yield
of lands on which the ad valorem tax
| is paid.
When the senate committee reached
, this clause it added another amend
menl exempting from the income tax
| all incomes derived from the rent, hire
| or use for agricultural purposes of
| land; on which the ad valorem tax is
| paid.
| 1t took several efforts, but the clause
was finally in the shape that, according
! to the view of the income tax advocates.