The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1920-11-11
URGES REPEAL
OF PERSONAL
TAX IN STATE
Tax Commissioner Wallace. Says
Present Property Tax System
Has Broken Down
FOR MANY C H A N G E S
Would Abolish Capital Stock
Tax and Increase Individual
Income Tax Rate
FOR MANY C H A N G E S

repeal or the personal property taa
and the capital stock tax are rec
commended by George L. Wallace, tax
commissioner, and Lyman A. Baker
secretary, in a report prepared fOr
Governor Frazier. The report assails
many features Of present tax laws
in North Dakota and recommend:
many changes. The chief recommen-
dations are:
increased taxation of personal
incomes.
Abolish office of local assessor
and pass "a workable county as
! SCISSOR law"
Repeal the personal property
tax. f'"'
Revise tax limitation laws.
. Allow tax commissioner or
state board of equalization to
pass on all proposed levies in ex-
cess Of limitations. :
& Repeal the capital stock tax.
a Confine taxation laws to bust
ness tax, corporation income
tax, a property tax and a person
al income tax to be supplemental
to an inheritance tax.
Revise exemptions from person
al income tax law.
The tax commissioner concludes
that "the limit of burden has been
reached in the taxation of real prop
crty in this state"
Increase on Real Estate
The report shows remarkable in
crease in the burden placed on real
property, particularly farm property,
during the last five years. In 1912
the real property tax and improve
ments thereon constituted $50 per
cent of the total wealth of the state,
according to a federal report. -
"In 1915 real estate, including both
rural and urban real estate, together
with improvements thereon, bore ap-
nroximately 67.3 per cent Of the to-
tai tax burden of the state; 66.4 in
IyI6, o2,t per cent. in 1917; 64.5 per
cent in 1918 and 73 per cent in 1919,'
the report says During the cor
responding years the other ALL per
cent of the total wealth of the state,
consisting of personal property, bore
1927 per cent of the total tax burden
of the state in 1915; 1914 in 1916; 37.4
in 1917; 35.5 in 1918 and 27 in 1919.
In computing the percentage Of the
total tax burden borne by real prop
erty in the state for each Of said
years, all special corporation tax col
lections going into the state treasury
are included in the total burden"
tid Utility Tax ,.. =
"The larger utilities of the state,
including railway companies, tele-
graph companies, telephone compa-
MES, express companies, etc. bear a
very heavy burden Of taxation, the
report says. The railway companies
have contested the legality of the as
sessment of the state board Of equaii-
zation for the years 1917 and 1918:
have paid taxes on a valuation ap-
two-thirds Of that fixel
by the state board of equalization for
those years; and have litigated the
balance of the tax assessed. The
state has been involved in very long
and expensive law suit which will
probably not be settled for some
time," the report continues.
The solution of the tax problem
does not lie in placing a heavier
burden on public utilities and corpora"
ton property in general, the tax com
missioner says. The additional tax
against public utilities ultimately re-
suits in increased rates, and the tax
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