The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1919-11-13
CROOKED TAX FIGURES

CROOKED TAX FIGURES
In an editorial the Minneapolis Journal trys
to show how much better off Minnesota is under
it's big business administration in the matter
of taxes than North Dakota is under it's farmer
administration. For cunning omissions, for de-
liberately juggled figures, downright lies and
dishonest conclusions this article of the big
business organ is a prize winner.
It startes out by saying that while the levy
of 2.9S mills in North Dakota is lower than
the levy of sos mills in Minnesota. North Dako-
ia raised the assessed valuation SO high that
the North Dakota state tax increase is much
greater than that in Minnesota; that while the
Minnesota levy was raised 1873 per cent the as
sessed valuation stands practically still, leaving
the reader to infer that taxes in Minnesota this
year have been raised only about 1873 per cent.
On top of this it states that the North Dakota
state tax was increased from 81 ,727,1 1876 to
$4,511, 200 or 161 per cent.
With characteristic cunning this big business
organ neglects to tell it's readers just now much
the assessed valuation of property was raised
in Minnesota and just how much more taxes
the people of Minnesota will have to dig up this
year. Had it done this it could not have made
out it's lying case against North Dakota and
could not have deceived it's readers. The truth
is that while the tax expenditures by the state
were increased in North Dakota for the coming
year to $4,511, 200, the tax expenditures in
Minnesota were increased to $26, 94O,495. The
Journal avoids these figures like poison. THEY
REPRESENT AN AMOUNT SIX TIMES
GREATER THAN THE NORTH DAKOTA
TAX THIS YEAR, WHILE MINNESOTA HAS
But A TRIFLE OVER THREE TIMES THE
POPULATION OF NORTH DAKOTA.
The crux of the tax question is not what the
levy rate is or what the assessed valuation is,
but what the two combined total, or what the
actual amount Of taxes are. The Minneapolis
Journal deliberately %conceals this important
point from its readers and leads up to the state
ment that minnesota taxpayers can take COM
fort in comparison with their neighbor on the
west" knowing all the time the Minnesota tax
payer was bearing a tax burden almost double
that borne by the North Dakota taxpayer.
The Journal asserts that "the increased tax
in North Dakota is needed mainly to meet
the eXtravagant outlay of the Townley regime
for high salaried employees and for state VEN
lures into Socialism" This is an out and out
lie without trimmings. Only approximately
100000 was appropriated to finance the vari-
GUS new departments and start the new state
enterprises. Of this, only about 5000, 900 or
about 80 cents per capita will be needed to start
the s~tate-owned industries. The Journal knew
when it made that lying assertion that the new
enterprises were to pay for themselves through
tlotatlon OF bonds and the redemption of these
bonds by profits made by these industries. How
well they can do this has already been demon
strated. The state bank was put on a paving
basis by the time it had expended % per cent
OF its appropriation made to put it on it's feet.
The rest Of the appropriation will be returned
to the state. The state flour mill at Drake cost
$4,000 and cleared $2,349.O4 in profits the
first 26 days Of operation. At that rate it will
return it's appropriation and pay for itself in
side of a year.
The Journal betrays the real source of it's
editorial with a bitter attack on the North d.
kota administration for venturing into the
realm of state owned industries. It betravs it's
dishonesty and inconsistency by pretending to
defend the taxpayer, while it really is attempt
ing to prevent the taxpayer from acquiring
state industries whose profits would do away
with taxes. What the journal is really about in
this lnsincere editorial is to defend the profits
OF big business and prevent them from being
used to pay the expenses of government.
hosltzkys salary is a guarantee that in spite
of /. V. A. claims. the state will nauor a. b,,oLo.