Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-03-06

are members of the Taxpayers association manifest
ed keen interest in the labors of the com
mission and especially in its proposal to compile a
! revenue and taxation code Since the appearance
of the report practically none of them have mani
tested interest of any kind any of the activities
of the commission the association. They did not
with single exception, in any way or at any time
| until the matter of the code revision came up. eX-
press any approval of or sympathy for any of the
recommendations proposals of the commission on
any subject.
81 merely mention this to show that they are
playing the old game in the same old way 1t is
a game of freeze out.
when the legislature met, the governor recon-
mended the ad valorem system of taxing mines and
mineral lands by the commission and to supply
ing the commission with the necessary professional
assistance. That this recommendation of the gov
ernor was unacceptable, not only to the mining in
erests but to those who control the majority in the
legislature, is in my opinion clear. If it had been
acceptable to those who control the majority in the
legislature they would, in my opinion, have proceeded
with reasonable promptness to draft legislation for
the purpose of carrying this recommendation to the
governor well his other recommendations into
effect. What actually done to postpone all
consideration of the vitality important recommended
tons of the governor for several weeks What was
actually done was to postpone consideration for a
period aggregatng more than third of the legisla
tive session of all these vital questions in the of
the crying need for prompt aggressive and positive
action on the part of the legislature.
pleas of justification for this initial postpone
ment as far as one can crystalline them into words
Il. That time was necessary to organize the
Legislature and
"2. That is was waiting for the specific drafts of
laws which had been promised by the revenue
mission
"Now, drafts of laws had been actually prom
Used by the revenue commission 1t not made a
part of the duties of the commission draft laws.
All that had been said that it hoped to be able
do so. 1t was difficult to say whether those who
control the majority in the Legislature hoped the
commission would hoped that it could not draft
such laws either in the form of code otherwise.
However we did complete the draft o. the code
and presented 1t to the governor man" weeks ago,
namely January 81. 1t was in most respects an
excellent piece of work. ! say this because had
but little do with anything except the general poll
cies underlying the draft In detail it the work
Of highly competent men; of Prof. Chamberlain, Mr..
DENVER and Prof. Haig and of Mr.. GrimshaW, Mr..
Lasterwood and others. All this has been fully eX-
planned before and there is need of repeating it
here The governor undoubtedly impressed with
the fact that it excellent piece of work as
all others who gave it fair consideration. At
the governors request it at once introduced in
the legislature in the form of House Bill No 100.
This code contained provisions for the carrying out
of practically all the recommendations of the rev.
enue commission in far they related to taxation
and revenue 1t included carefully prepared ar
tcle on the State Tax Commission which embodies
provisions for the actual ad vaorem assessment OF
mines by the commission the lines recommended
by the revenue commission.
Days and weeks passed after the Introduction
of House Bill No 100 embodying this code and moth
ing was done with it. Then it appeared that new
code being prepared without comforting with the
revenue commission anyone connected with it.
That rather silly business and didn't get very
far l sure that the governor thought that it
was silly business l that he that it was
paper craftsmanship of the most piffing kind, for
when he found about it he started conferences
in his office, using Bill 100 as a basis. These
conferences did not stare until quite recently. 1t
would not be proper for me to state what occurred
these conferences suffice it to say that Bill 100
emerged from them In its present form; in new
dressing with many eliminations eXpurgations and
alterations with much of the heart of it cut out;
with much cut out which would if enacted into law,
go very long way toward enforcing better tax col
lections, better spread of the tax burdens and
lower rates.
There is very much in the altered draft that is
good very much in it, formerly in the original draft
which is good and many amendments to the original
draft which good. But the soul of Bill 100 has
been killed.
"Bl 100 emerged with an entirely draft of
the mine tax law.
This new draft is the proposal of the mining
companies 1t is the compromise proposal of the min
ing companies 1t is in no way compromise which
Is acceptable to the revenue commission insofar as
1 speak for that commission.
at is not, in my opinion, a method which will
insure fair trial of the ad Vaorem system in
respect to mining property in the state. Instead OF
prescribing that the Tax Commission shall assess
mining property the same basis that that COM
mission assesses other property it prescribes alter
native methods which the commission may use in
the assessment in this particular class of property
The proposed law drawn does not permit the
commission in the of its choice of the alter
native methods prescribed to arrive at the value of
different mineral properties in manner which Will
insure proper assessment of each particular prop
erty but makes it mandatory on the commission, if
decides in any year one mineral property
on output basis, assess all mineral properties
now existing in the state output basis. This |
precludes the possibility of an ad ValOrem system
of assessing any producing mines in the state in
one year on any basis except the production basis if
it transpires that some producing mine, how |
ever unmportant, should in the opinion of the COM
mission under the alternative prescribed be assessed
on production basis.