Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1920-02-24
THE TAX QUESTION

Several prominent local taxpS%s
have requested the Daily Register To-
publish the following on the tax
situation in Kentucky, issued by the,a
Kentucky Tax Reform League, and
which it styles:
TAX MADNESS
There are in the State of Ken;
lucky 80 Millionaires, 566 Bank and
Trust Companies, $500 Corporations
of every description and in addition
to these there are over 10000 other.
taxpayers embracing widows and
orphans, farmers and working mem
and women and storekeepers inclnd-
ing $4,000 Bank Depositors. y
To get the 1896 so-called wealthy
classes Of taxpayers it is proposed by
some members Of the Legislature toi
increase the burden on the 100000
other taxpayers for whom so much
sympathy is alleged to be felt. I
Is it not known that taxes are of
little concern to the rich, who can.
easily afford to pay them, while taxes
are of deep concern to the great ma
jority of small property holders who
have to struggle to make both ends
meet?
Banks ana corporations paid one
fourth of all the taxes collected for
1913, and the millionaires who are the
large property owners paid in pro-
portion to their taxable wealth as
other taxpayers.
To increase the taxes on the pro-
perty of the so-called wealthy classes
who can afford it, imposes greater
burden on the poor who cannot afford
| it.
1t is property and not people that
is taxed and the Constitution requires
that each class of property shall be
taxed uniformly for the purposes for
which it is taxable and the invested
savings of the poor man must be In
some kind of property just as the IN,
vestments of the rich must be in some
kind of property and as each kind is.
taxed alike the only difference is that
the rich pay more as they have more
and the poor less because they have
less.
To talk about making the rich pay
more sounds well but is to ignore the
constitutional provision for the equal
taxation of each kind of property,
which is fundamental law. :,
One-half of the 100000 taxpayers.
have money deposited in National
Banks and more in State Banks. Are.
the great mass of these to be burden
ed to get at the comparatively few
rich? -
Bonds and Stocks, Notes and Ac-5
counts are held by the small tax
payers scattered throughout the
State. Are these to be excessively
taxed on their holdings in order to.
bring a few capitalists to time?
Agricultural Implements from
which the State derives no net in.
come because of exemption and Manu-
featuring Machinery are taxed for
State purposes but have eliminated
from local taxation and why?
No State can prosper without Agri-
culture and Manufacturing. There
must be domestic production or pur-
chase elsewhere and these industries
are encouraged to stimulate home
production and to meet competition.
Has the State lost anything by his
wise measure? Hardly, for the year
before their exemption the taxes paid,
as compared with the subsequent
period of their exemption, was as fol-
lows:
Ayr. Imp. 1880 s45, 1890
Manufac. Mach. 100000 59,l48.00
Raw Materials---41, $4,000 147,677.00
Total ------ $86,625.0O. 1852, $4,000
In 1917 all of such property was in
Guided. In 1918. the figures are; exc
clusively of Machinery and Materials
not exempted locally which add large
ly to the increase. y I.
+ Has the State lost by the new
method of taxing Bank deposits !?