The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1920-01-02
gagged in any other kind of industry.
Tonnage Tax Politician.

y
Tonnage Tax Politician.
''The argument of the professional
tonnage tax politician runs some
thing like this: A large amount of
wealth in the hands of a compare
lively few people is located in res
tricted district; the owners, the OPP
orators and other dependents upon
this peculiar form of wealth are in
the minority and have few votes
fve-sixths of the state think they are
not directly interested in the restrict
ed mining district and this five-sixths
contains a very large proportion of
the voting population; therefore, let
us exact from the concentrated
wealth in the mining zone all we can
get in order that the populous Sec
tions where no mines are to be found
the common burden and the people
thereof be made grateful for this
gift.
''In other words, the majority is
trying to impose on the minority an
unjust and discriminatory eXaction in
the shape of taxes because it has the
power to do so. This is the logic of
the tonnage tax stripped of pretty
theories and high sounding economic
platitudes. Being unacquainted with
the facts, those residing outside of
the developed mining region in many
cases are inclined to believe the poll
ticians. If informed of the real sit
uation, however, | am inclined to the
belief that all men who wish to be
fair will see the injustice in the pro-
posal to levy any additional tax bur-
dens on the already heavily burdened
mining industry.
lone of the chief arguments used
by the servile politicians who are adj
Ivocating the tonnage tax is that mines
are not assessed or taxed as high un-
der the present system as other forms
of property. All tonnage tax advo-
Gates propose to retain the present ad
valorem system of taxing mines, and
add supertax or additional tax for
purely state purposes.
Mines Compared to Farms.
"The assertion, so often heard, that
mines pay less taxes in proportion to
their value than do farms, is a de-
liberate falsehood-lie if you please,
and those who utter it know it is
false.
Under the classified assessment
law, iron ore, mined or unmined, is
cent of it's full value, while rural real
estate is assessed at but one-third of
full value. In other words mine
worth $150,000 is assessed at $751;
900, and farm land worth the same
amount is assessed at $4,000.
at also must be taken into con-
sideration that the value of iron ore
is much more closely ascertained than
is the value of farm property.
hardly need to tell you that the av-
erage rural assessor is more than lem
lent when he is appraising the lands
Of his friends and neighbors, and even
the boards of equalization and the
tax commission cannot pretend that
they ever raise rural values up to
what they should be. No scientific
investigation of the value of farm
property is ever made and no legis.
lature would dare to sanction an APP
preparation for such a purpose.
ION the other hand mines are
most scientifically valued and the
assessment is not made in the fna
analysis by the local assessor, but by
the experts of the Minnesota Tax
Commission. All records of drill
holes are required to be submitted to
the commission, together with an an,
alysis of the ore disclosed at each five
foot interval of each drill hole OIL
shaft and mine opening. These re-
ports are sent to the school of mines
at the University of Minnesota where
they are examined by competent en-.
gineers and later personal investi-
cation is made of each property by
one of the staff of engineers to con.
| firm the data submitted. In this way
an accurate estimate of the tonnage
in each mine is made each year and
this, together with the quality of the
ore, labor and transportation costs
and other similar facts, enable the
tax commission to correctly value the
property. So accurate are these ton.