The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1921-01-05
$18 for Average
Car, Tax Favored
PROPOSED SCHEDULE ASSURES
REVENUE OF $500, O,O0O--MAIN-
TENANCE REQUIRES ss,oOo,Ooo.

Twelve clerks retained by the adj
vance legislative committee on road
laws are checking over the automobile
license records of the secretary of
state to get data on which the auto
mobile tax legislation will be based
Sherman w. Child Of Minneapolis,
chairman of the subcommittee which
was named to frame the license tax
bill, said yesterday that the problem is
one that will engage the committees
attention for weeks.
The proposed schedule in the uni
form traffic law submitted by the
highway commission is too high and
will be entirely remodeled. C. M. Bab-
cock, state highway commissioner,
said yesterday that he is interested on
ly in keeping faith with the people,
who were told during the campaign
that the license tax to raise funds for
the road program would average about
$18 car. They have no idea of i'm
posing a higher rate.
"We are interested only in seeing
that graduated license fee is fixed"
said Mr.. Babcock, Chased on weight
and value, producing the necessary
revenue, but not running in excess of
$18 car, as we announced during the
campaign for the amendment"
Simple Tax Basis Urged.
Mr.. Child said that the committee
may not base the fee on weight and
value, as Mr.. Babcock proposes. "Most
Of the states tax cars on the basis of
horsepower" he said, "some of them
combining the other features with it..
But it is essential to make the COM
putation of the tax as simple as pos
sible. The accounting problem is an
important one. If a complicated rule
is made for computing the tax, it can
not be handled by districts, but the
tax on each car would have to be de-
termined by experts. There is danger
too of making loopholes through which
some cars would get into different
rating and escape their fair share of
taxation.
''There are four different bases on
which the tax may be levied. One is
horsepower. The others are weight,
carrying capacity and value, the pro-
posed schedule for Minnesota is more
complicated than those in force in any
other state. There are IL states that
have license tax in lieu of all other
taxes on automobiles, and all of them
are more simple in their provisions
than the one proposed here. Their
taxes are all lower than the tax which
Minnesota needs for it's program"
Mr.. Child agrees that the tax should
be made to average $18 a car and no
more. That will bring $5,500,000 a
year on the basis of cars now in use,
but will increase. Figures indicate
that nearly $6,000,000 revenue will be
needed.
$6,00O,000 Held Needed.
"It must be remembered" said Mr..
Child, "that the state is now respon-
sible for the maintenance of the 1000
miles of trunk highway. The highway
department estimates that this cost
about $2,25O,0OO in the past year, and
| to bring them in improved condition
probably calls for about $3,O00,0OO lhis
year. We have $2, $4,000 in federal
aid coming, which must be matched
| by an equal amount of state funds
spent for construction, and not for
maintenance. Raising this amount for
construction means close to S6,O00,O00
that we need to produce by automo-
bile taxation" The present estimate
is 100000 cars in the state, and an
average of $18 car would bring $5,-
| d0n mn