The Donaldsonville chief., 1921-04-23
AGAINST INCREASED TAXATION

AGAINST INCREASED TAXATION
The action Of the committee on
taxation of the. Constitutional Con-
vention in voting down the PROPOSE
ton to levy a tax on incomes and its
determined stand against any further
increase of taxation is source OF
much relief and qualification to the
already overtaxed people of Louisl-
ana. 1t was urged in support OF the
income tax that many persons OF
means own no real property and have
most of their wealth invested in bonds
and other non-taxable securities from
which they derive substantial reve-
nues and yet pay no tax, and it was
to reach this class Of individuals that
the income tax was contemplated. Ii
it were possible to levy such tax on
incomes derived exclusively from
non-taxable securities, there might be
some excuse or reason for its appli-
cation; but to impose this tax against
persons who because Of their proper
ty holdings already pay their full and
just prorata of taxes to the state, the
parish and the municipality, would
be manifestly inequitable and unfair,
and the committee on taxation is to
be commended for it's decision not to
incorporate such an article in the
organic law.
The committee is also said to be
opposed to the exclusive use of the
two-mill severance tax for the greater
agricultural college and the levy OF
one mill after 1924 for it's mainte-
nance and to the imposition of state
wide tax and tax on the sale of gaso-
line for the construction and main
tenance of public highways. The
body is said to favor the payment Of
the severnce tax into the general
fund, to be used for general purposes
as we'll as for the college and it feels
that the state roads can be built and
maintained at less cost to the people
than is contemplated by the various
taxes proposed.
A great agricultural college might
be we'll and good. It would prove a
great ornament at least to the state
and monument to the glory of the
chief executive; but the amount which
it is proposed to expend in its con-
struction and the one-mill statewide
tax after 1924 required for its main
tenance is an extraordinary price
which the people of Louisiana are
asked to pay for what certain
prominent man said could never be
more than an "artifcial stimulus"
The construction Of state highways
linking the principal cities and popu-
lation centers would also be most
commendable proposition; but it
would certainly be unjust to bleed the
people of the entire state in state
taxes, automobile and gasoline taxes,
to build state roads connecting GER
tain sections, leaving to the people
of the parishes no sources of revenue
except additional special taxes to
build and maintain parish roads.
The same might be said of the pub
lie schools. It is attempted to build
too many expensive school buildings
and to crowd too much schooling into
short period of time. Everybody
believes that every opportunity should
be given the youth to acquire an ed
ucation, but the present system un-
der which the People are taxed heavily
for the support and maintenance Of
the public schools and under which
some parishes pay in taxes to the state
three and four times as much as they
get back for their schools and some
parishes receive three and four times
as much as they pay into the state
treasury for the same purpose, is abb
solutely unjust and unfair and should
be corrected.
The taxation committee has made
a splendid beginning, and it will rem
der a great service to the people if it
will not only prohibit any and all in
creases in taxation, but devise ways
and means of reducing the present
heavy tax burdens which rest on the
of the people of Louisiana.