Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-07-15
WANTS TAX LAW
ON MINES FAIR
ALL TAXPAYERS
KiwaniS Has Trout Dinner:
Wylder Tells of Portland
International Meet; Rodey
Is Chief Speaker.

Urging the advancement of {
mining tax fair not only to the
mine owners but to the people also
and careful investigation by the
taxpayers before q great debt i;
!, voted to the state, Pearce Rodey
" outlined our present system of tax.
\ alton before the Kiwanis club ir
a paper that showed much study
tand conscientious preparation.
Frank Schwentker and DR.. G. A
Teller, past presidents OF the club
treated all members to a feed" OF
trout and E. n. Boule. another past
president, each member with a can
of beans. DR.. Wylder told of the
activities of the recent interna-
tional Kiwanis meet in Portland.
Taxes Increase Steadily.
] I'm spite of all limitations the
tax rate creeps up each year" said
mr. Rodey. ain 1919 the rate in
Bernalillo county was $3.50 per
Thousand. The legislature has
floundered about in trying to pro-
wide revenue in other ways than
by the general property tax. In
another instance i! has attempted
Legislation creating unconstitution-
Ial classification of certain classes
of taxable property-by which |
refer to what is known as the mine
tax law. The attorney general of
| New Mexico on August 26, 1917,
gave a long opinion supported by
abundant legal authority, holding
that Chapter SIS of the laws of
I1915, which provides that mines
tshall be taxed on a basis of the net
Yvalue in dollars of the output in
lieu of mineral value and also In
lieu of mineral values in any and
4 all other contiguous lands held or
owned in the same right-to be
demonstrations because a dis
termination in favor of the mines
land not as a basis for fixing the
actual value of such tangible prop
erty as required by law
Cites Arizona Law.
"Of course it is difficult to tax
La mine, but when the securities OF
a company are worth in the neigh
borhood of sixty million dollars on
i the market, based on property in
New Mexico, is it not rather a joke
Ito tax such a mine solely on the
tnet value of its output in dollars
uArizona takes the output of a
Imine, capitalizes such output by
tusing 62-3 as the capitalization
Efigure, and then bases the assess
kment of the mine on such inquire.
uThat method gives some basis OF
FINDING the value of a mine for that
l year, but our law does not. The
1919 legislature made compro-
mise with the mining companies TO
take the average output for the
Iyears 1916, 1917 and 1918 in order
to figure the assessment figures
on mines for the years 1919 and
l192O. To my mind this was more
unconstitutional tax legislation.
mo one wants the mines to pay
81 cent more than an assessment
NSn their actual value They should
not, paw a cent if nothing is due;
land vet if a mine can produce each
wear sixteen millions in the value
of its net output in dollars, 1t Is
safe to say that such a mine, so
producing. has an actual value OF
more than it's actual output for
| that one year,
Commission Means Delay.
"The last legislature appointed
a commission to report on tins
subject. The appointment OF
commission by the legislature Is a
good deal like the appointment OF
a COMMITTEES by this body-a
chance to forget the matter Tor
| two years more. However, let us
hope that this commission will
make a thorough study of the mat
| ter which will result in doing JUS
| tice to the public. as well as to the
mines. We want our state to de-
|yelop and therefore We must help
1.-THE mines within reason--not,
however, of going to the extent of
granting them discrimination as
against others.
The 1919 legislature was espec-
tally prolific in it's tax legislation.
| refer to the income tax, the in
heritance tax, the franchise tax on
corporations, the gasoline excise
tax, the plan for state budget,
etc. Some of these laws are man.
Sfestly unconstitutional as to GER
tain provisions. The income tax
law discriminates against the cor
poration organized in New Mexico
and only includes outside corpora
tons which own or operate any
mine, oil or gas well. Because of
such discrimination and failure to
conform to the constitutional pro-
visions in that regard. the income
tax law is undoubtedly unconsti-
|tutional.
Il Approves Income Tax.
81 'The general idea of the law Is
I&ood, and perhaps an income tax
B the least Objectionable of all
methods of raising revenue, as it
calls upon man to pay according
10 his ability. The Inheritance
tax is a step in the right direction.
It provides generaily for taxes on
1nheritances of l per centum