The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1920-01-02

of the annual agricultural production
of this state in amount and value
comes from the AZ counties already
mentioned where the total taxes for
all purposes collected in the rural
districts just equal the annual tax of
the iron mines. Assuming this is
true it is interesting to compare the
value of the 1918 mineral production
with that of the agricultural districts
of the state.
'In 1918 the mines, as already
stated, produced ore of gross value
of $3.50, POI, SIS.
"The agricultural production, in
Guiding live stock, is estimated for the
whole state by the state department
of immigration at $729,425,554.
Taking two-thirds of this as repre-
sentative of the forty-nine counties
named, we have total of $486,263,-
l702, just little more than twice the
value of all the mines.
Therefore, it appears that all the
agricultural districts in the 40 pros
porous counties named produce more
than twice as much as the iron mines
in 1918 and paid in the aggregate the
same taxes.
"Does this substantiate the argu-
ment that the mines pay less in pro-
portion than other property? 1t
most certainly does not.
Where States Taxes Is an Asset
''There is another side to this ques-
ton. Much of the money which is
distributed in the shape of school aid
among these 40 counties and the 9TH
er counties comes from the mines. In
1918 many counties received back
more from the state in the form of
school and road aid, than the total
amount of state taxes collected in
that county. This is because of the
large excess of state taxes over the
amount returned by the state paid
by the mineral districts. The follow
ing is partial list of counties picked
at random which thus profited: Hous-
ton got back $152 for each dollar
paid to the state; Fillmore, $1.53;
Mower, $1.06; Freedom, $1.14; Fari-
bault, Silt; Jackson, $1.20; Pipe
jstone, $1.30; Cottonwood, $1.21; Wa
Itonwan, $1.33; Waseca, $1.36; Steele,
$1.29; Dodge, $1.66; Redwood, $1.20;
Lyon, $1.25; Lincoln, $1.13; and
many others. st. Louis county, the
iron mine center, on the other hand,
got back only 33 cents for every dol
lar it paid into the state treasury.
"In the counties named and many
others the state tax is an asset rather
than a liability, but still people in
many of these counties are clamoring
for tonnage tax in order to relieve
them of part of their state tax bur-
den when in fact they have no state
tax burden at all at the present time.
This again clearly indicates the
lengths to which the proponents of a
super tax on iron ore have gone in or
der to defend their position. They
have lead the people to believe that
such tax would relieve them of a
burden which is non existent.
Another fact indicating that the
mines are not tax slackers is that of
the total general property tax levied
for state purposes in 1918, amounting
to $6,269, 346, the mines contributed
ST ,046,52 or about one-sixth.
| ut might we'll be added that the
total assessed value of the mineral
properties for 1918 exceeded the total
assessed value of all personal prop
erty in the entire state of Minnesota
of every kind and description. The
total for the mines so you won't for
get, was $303,343, 621 and the total
for personal property was S297 1885,
284, including $S,237,836 of mined
iron ore which also is included in the
mineral assessment. The true value
of all personal property was $751;
397,286 as compared to $60S, 191, 137
for all mineral wealth, and if person
al property was to be assessed on the
same basis as the mines, that is at so
per cent of full value, the assessment
would have been $440,698,643, in
stead of not quite $500, 100000.
! Iron Ore Pays Millions in Taxes.
again in 1909 the legislature pas
sed law taxing grain elevators at a
/ very low special rate. From that
time up to and including 1918, the
millions upon millions of bushels of
grain which passed through Minneso-
ia elevators each year were taxed on
ly $4O4, 1858, or an average of $40,-
456 for each of the ten years. The
iron mines paid taxes this year of
$13,048,053 or more than 332 times
the amount grain in elevators has
paid for the entire ten year period.
"And they say that iron ore es-
capes taxation.