The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1922-10-27
Taxes Can Be and
Must Be Reduced

lied and reduced" declared Walter M.
Pierce. Democratic candidate for gov
ernor. in a statement issued Mon
day in which he sets forth some OF
the ways in which this can be accom-
| plished. The statement follows:
| When am governor I promise to
advocate and demand economy in
every department Of state govern
ment, sd that taxes will be reduced
| to the lowest possible point consis-
tent with good government. To this
end will use the veto unsparingly.
One great difficulty today is thu.
one half the property Of Oregon is
exempt from taxation, the timber in
the forest reserves being consplcu-
GUS example. The only income from
the reserves is the rentals from stock
men for grazing, of which 65 per cent
goes into the federal treasury. hold
that, since no tax is derived from this
vast body of timber, all the rentals
from grazing privileges in the forest
reserves should go into the treasury
Of Oregon, to compensate for the vast
body of taxable property held by the
federal government out OF taxation.
AS governor, would use the prestige
of the office in a movement with
other governors and delegations In
congress to bring this about. This
change would produce about $35O,OoO
year new revenue, thereby lessen
ing to that amount the burden on pro-
perty now taxed.
Practically one third of the stand
ing timber in the state of Oregon is
in the forest reserves and pays no
tax. Under the present law, this tim
Der will be cut off, leaving blackened
stumps of untaxable property, and be
shipped out of Oregon without paying
a dollar of tax to the state. Not only
is Oregon being made poorer by the
removal of this timber, but the nat
ural beauty and scenery of the state
is being marred. A severance tax col
lected as this timber is cut and
shipped would be large source OF
revenue. A big body of such timber
is now contracted by the federal gov
ernment to people from distant states
and it will be removed without paying
any tax unless a severance tax is at
once imposed. AS governor would do
all in my power to levy such tax
on all timber taken from the forest
reserves.
| While one half of the property OF
Oregon is exempt from taxation much
of the other half is paying little or
no tax because it is invested in shares
of stock, bonds and property hidden
away from the assessor. This leaves
but part of the taxable property to
bear the entire cost of government.
This property which bears the terrific
burden consists of farms, cattle, hor-
ses, city buildings and homes.
In 1921 there was raised by direct
taxation in this state $9,493, ,105, an
average of almost 91z mills on the
property taxed. This is the highest
direct property tax levied in the Uni
ted States for state purposes. It con-
stitutes nearly one half of most Of the
farmers taxes, and in the city it Of
ten means one fourth of the entire
tax.
In Minnesota in 1920, the direct
property tax or state purposes was
s1,667, ,42S, which is about one sixth
of what Oregon property owners were
called upon to pay for state purposes
and yet the assessed value of taxable
property in Minnesota is two and
: half times that of Oregon. Minnesota
raised the balance Of her state reve'
nue. from indirect sources, viz: A
per cent gross earnings tax from pub
lie service corporations and rs cents
per ton tax upon iron ore mined il
the state.
! In Oregon we can relieve the pro
perty owners by collecting larg'
|, part of the cost Of state government
9 from similar sources, viz: ID ta1
on net incomes; (2) a severance tai
: (3) tax on gross earnings of publi
}, service corporations. / favor such
e program in this state under tn
guarantee that any tax derived from
e new sources shall not be used for in
r creased expenditures, but to TAX
+ some of the burden off those nov
s bearing more than their just share o
d taxation.
+ The practices of public utilities be
e came so intolerable that those utili
9 ties have to be regulated. A costl.
T. public service commission has to b
maintained for that purpose. Sine
the commission has to be maintaine
for the regulation Of the public ser
:, vice corporations, those corporation
!. should themselves be required to pa
Al ovv,a,eas of kha Communication with