The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-08-21

spenr the entire day on the taxing machinery of the revenue bill. No oth- CT portion of the bill was even suG- gested or referred to except incident ally. It was o'clock when the vote was taken and immediately thereafter the committee rose and the senate then adjourned until 10 o'clock Friday morning.
 The committee of the whole will re- convene at 9:S0 o'clock tomorrow morning and is expected to take up the income tax at that time.
 Only the sections relating to the in- come tax and the coal and tonnage tax remain to be considered. They will probably be disposed of tomorrow, in which event the bill will likely be re- ported to the senate Friday AMENDMENT READ When the senate, in committee of the whole, reconvened at 9:30 o'clock this morning the amendment offered yester- day afternoon by Senator AclSer was read. It substitutes for the present tax ing machinery a tax assessor, tax col lector, tax supervisor. district tax court and state tax commission.
 The assessor shall serve four years, give bond in sum of 5000 in eoun ties hav- ing less than COCO inhabitants, and $509O in counties with more than 5o00O. His lees sSIldil De q per c6TL on the 0rSt SltWU where total collections do not exceed $12,000; 4 per cent on seconw sl0oO and 2 per cent on remainder. In counties where collections exceed $12000 the fees shall be as above up to that amount and 1A of 1 per cent on all in excess thereof Listing of property must commence on October in each year and finished by January 1. In counties of less than 10O,- 600 population the assessor is required n wis al vol one day.
 Property owners . making returns are required to make oath to the correctness Of such returns. but is not required to make oath as to value of his property
 When the clerk had read about half of the amendment, consisting of A print ed pages. Senator Morris of Dade moved that further consideration of this part of the bill be postponed until it could be printed, as it was too much to prop erly understand from merely hearing it read
 URGE IMMEDIATE ACTION
 Senators Acker and Carmichael, stat ing that the amendment was substan- tially the same as that in the original bill, argued immediate action.
 Senator Leith of Walker said Senators Acker and Carmichael would not say the amendment was the same as the iriginal, but substantially the same, and he contended that it was too important a matter to pass upon without proper understanding of it-which, he said, could not be had from hearing it read
 Assured by others that the amendment was substantially as the original, he withdrew his motion. This was not done, however, until several members had participated in the discussion.
 The judges of the 2 tax districts. each composed of three counties except the twenty-second, which has four counties, under the Acker amendment will be ap- pointed by the governor on recommend ation of the circuit judges presiding in the various districts.
 The clerk began reading the amend ment at 9:30 and did not finish it until Il :45, reading continuously, except for about five minutes when Senator Morris interrupted to move that the amendment be reprinted.
 When the reading had been finished Senator Ellis moved that consideration Of the amendment be postponed until after the income and tonnage tax sec tions are disposed of
 senator objected, stating that the machinery would be needed whether the income and tonnage taxes are re- tained in the bill, and he moved to lay the motion on the table. He with dreW the motion to table to permit | Senator Ellis to discuss it.
 BILL TOO AUTOCRATIC
 Senator Ellis said the bill is auto cratic in form and that after listen ing to it's reading he was more be- wildered than ever He insisted that the income and tonnage tax be dis posed of first, and contended that if the machinery provided for in the amendment if established it will raise all the surplus s2,000,0O0 or sS,00).- 900, wanted, and then some. He said 1t could not be known at this stage who knows what revenues will be | raised under this bill and until some idea of this is given the question of