Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1921-03-11
ASSEMBLY TO
Get TAX BILLS
Test Vote on Blaine's Program
Promises to Be Feature
This Week.
MERCHANTS ENTER PROTEST
Business Men From All Sections of the
State Appear in Madison to Pro-
test Against Passage of In
come Tax Bills.

come ak DIS
Madison.-A test vote on various
tax measures will come up In the as
sembly before the end of the presen1
week, and on this vote hinges the
question as to whether Governor
Blaine will be able to carry out his
economic program.
The requests filed by the dlfferent
departments of the state ask Tor ap-
| preparations approxfmating Slo,OoouoV
more than the present revenues OF the
state. The present biennial revenues
of the state are $50, 100000, and the
different boards and commissions anu
institutions are asking for approprla-
tions aggregating $75,000,OOO. To meet
this difference Governor Blaine mas
recommended an increase in income
taxes and has declared that ne does
not favor an increase on general prop
erty taxes of the state. Over this polnt
the big fight of the legislature hinges.
During the past week nearly lOO Dus-
mess men came to Madison to protest
against the passage of the income tax
bills The two bills under considera-
ton at this time are the Goodman bill
to increase the exemptions under the
income tax law and the 9. II. Hanson
bill to repeal the present personal
property offset.
Assemblyman Goodman's bill provid-
ed for an increase of the exemptions
of man and wife under the income tax
law from 1920 to So, 400; an Increase
of the exemptions for single persons
from $500 to $1,000, and an increase
for children from $500 to $500. Good
man, in addressing the committee,
thought that these exemptions were
just. The bill was favored by John
Meeks of the Brotherhood of LocOm0-
tive Engineers and by G. G. Platt, Wis
consin Nonpartisan league. Tax Com
missioner Atwood said that these in
creases in exemptions would mean a
loss of nearly S1,OO0OO0 in income
taxes assessed against individuals. The
bill was opposed by Paul d. Carpenter,
Milwaukee, representing the Taxpay-
ers' league of Milwaukee. He said that
if these exemptions were allowed 1t
would mean that income tax rates
must be increased to make up the diff
ference.
The greatest opposition was mani
tested to the C. e. Hanson bill for the
repeal of the personal property offset.
Hanson said that a man in his county
who had 100000 out at interest and
good automobile would pay no tax on
the money out at interest because the
tax on the automobile would be suffi-
cient to offset it. He said that he be-
lieved the personal property offset
should be repealed.
Tax Commissioner Thomas E. Lyons
said that from 1913 to 1920 So, 813,6 81
had been assessed under the income
tax law, Of which 22,116,4 21, or 43.77
per cent of the whole, was paid with
personal property tax receipts and
yielded no income.
.'That is to say" declared Mr.. Ly-
ons, on an average approximately S3,
100000 of assessed income tax has
been annually forgiven taxpayers and
stricken from the rolls because, for
LII.
sors of some millions of dollars of per-
sonal property as well as the recipients
of this vast amount of income. But for
the operation of the offset the revenue
actually available for public expendi-
lures during the last eight years would
have been increased from income tax
alton bySover S23,O00000 and the gen.
4oxr NV
same amount"
Max w. Rabb, Milwaukee, in OPP
position, declared that Wisconsin paid
higher taxes than business men of sur
rounding states. The repeal of the per-
sonal property offset would produce
S3,OOOOOO more revenue.
Frank L. Gilbert, Madison, represent
ing the Retail Drygoods' association,
the Retail Show Dealers association
and the Retail Clothiers' association of
the state, said that retailers earnestly
and strenuously object to passage of
the Hanson bill.
Chairman w. II. Edwards of the tax
commission said that he did not believe
these bills could be reported to the
house before the end of the week. No
one has been able to determine wheth-
er the report of the committee will be
favorable upon these bills or not. If
the income tax bills are beaten it
means that this legislature must pro-
vide other means Of securing revenue
or it must increase the general proper
ty taxes. The vote on these measures
will be the crucial test Of the admins
tratiOn.
Urues That State Own Armories.
State owned armories were advo
Gated by Adjutant General HolWay of
the Wisconsin National guard before
the legislative joint finance committee.
The state owns no armOries at this
time, he said, but if the committee
would allow some Of the funds to be
diverted, he could purchase a few by
paying off the mortgages. There is
one armory worth $4,000 that can be
purchased if the state pays the $4,000
mortgage" General Holway said. The
state contributes to building armories
but does not get title to them.
Bachelor Tax Bill Gets Publicity.
Taxation of bachelors, as proposed
in a bill recently offered in the lower
house of the Wisconsin state legisla-
ture by Assemblyman FL. M. Marks of