Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1922-12-30
PROPOSED NEW HIGHWAY
LEGISLATION.
From Good Roads Association Of
Wisconsin.


In determining the financing of
any new road program, the first step
is to find out how that program is
financed now. This was done by the
Legislative Committee Of the Wis
consin County Boards Association
previous to making any recommend
atoms. The outstanding fact they
found was that this year in round
numbers $37, 100000 will be spent
on road improvement and of this
amount less than 100000 is fur
nished by the motor vehicle, all of
which goes to road maintenance. To
sum it up it was found that S2,582,-
900 was provided by indirect taxa
ton, or 7fs; $50, 404, 900 or 82s by
direct taxation; and $3,907,O0 or
1917 by the motor vehicle. In other
words, taxes took care of 900 of the
bill and the motor vehicle of 1917.
1t was felt that the share borne by
the motor vehicle was far too small
and bears 0nly remote relation to
the advantages derived. 1t is the
motor vehicle that created the de-
mand for better roads, road mainten-
ance and road marking 1t created
the demand for the paved road, the
high type gravel roads, for mainten-
ance of our roads 1t would be diff
ficult to cite any public enterprise in
which the benefits received can be
more nearly traced to to the benefit
ciary than the benefits of good roads
can be traced to the principal road
users, the motor vehicle owners.
With this in mind the committee
| decided upon the following policy:
To eliminate the state general pro-
perty taxes which have been levied in
the past to meet the federal aid,
/ (this in the future would amount to
/ $4,000, 000), and provide for meet
ing this by motor vehicle licenses
and taxes.
/ To entirely wipe out the require
ment that the county should contri-
butte one-third of the cost of con-
struction of federal aid roads so that
in the future these roads would be
built wholly by the federal govern
ment and the state.
To provide that the entire cost of
maintenance should be borne by i'm
posts on motor vehicle owners.
Almost $2,00O,O00 is now raised
by general property tax. Instead
of these property general taxes the
committee recommends the follow
ing:
A change in the license system so
that instead of each car paying a $40
/ flat rate the license would be graded
on the basis of soc q hundred pounds
of weight. This would mean that
Ford ear would pay ST and the Ii
cense would be graded upward ac-
/ cording to weight 1t would yield
the same amount of money as is now
/ yielded by the flat rate. The theory
in doing this is that it hardly seemed
equitable that low priced cars worth
500 or$200 should pay the same Ii
cense as high priced car.
A graduated and increased fee av-
eraging $1.00 per hundred pounds
of weight with load on heavy trucks
and motor buses. These are highly
destructive of the roads, are run for
commercial purposes and there seems
to be general agreement that they
pay more towards road construction
and maintenance
They recommend a &c privilege
highway tax upon the valuation of
motor vehicles to be paid to the state
instead of the personal property tax
which is paid to the local units. This
means that instead of paying per-
sonal property tax locally on the val
ue Of your car, you pay 2e6 to the
state on its value. In many places
the personal property rate is over ? &c
and hence the owner of car would
pay less. Provision is made for a
sliding scale on the value of cars
from year to year. This is not a
new tax but merely a shifting of
personal property tax from local
units TO the state.
Finally gasoline tax is provided
OF 2 per cent gallon on all gasoline
used in motor vehicles on highways
There is provision for a refund for
gasoline used for other purposes. AT
present $4.000,000 is received from
motor vehicle licenses. The pro
posed plan would raise Sc, 100000 in
addition from motor vehicles and
finance the entire cost of the states
share of road maintenance and road
/ construction.
New Ideas.