The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1923-03-29

IN any one year S4,0O0,000 is payable
into the state treasury in lieu of mill
taxes and other taxes for educational
purposes, largely for common schools,
to be distributed as now provided by
law for school purposes; the balance
| of So % per cent is paid to the town,
city or village in which the tax is as
sessed.
'The effect of such apportiOnment
relieves the road and personal prop
erty of the state of the following
amounts, based on the last available
date, namely:
Interest on certificates of indebt-
edness, tax, S159,319.
Free high schools tax, $175,000.
Graded schools tax, 100000
University mill tax, S1,723,027.
Normal school mill tax, S765, 790.
Common schools mills tax, $3,016,-
$40.
'0h the additional distribution to
the common SCHOOLS out of the $4,000
600, $601,78 making a total of tax
reduction on real and personal prop
erty of S6,64S,236. The income tax
payers are relieved of the surtax un-
der the teachers retirement fund of
$1,000,000, making total of $7,648,
236, and leaving excess of the amount
apportioned to the state treasury and
to school funds of $151,764. Out of
this excess is payable to the city of
Milwaukee for teachers retirement
fund of 100000, leaving a small bal
ance of S49,764.
Repeats Mill and Special Taxes.
The net result is the repeal of all
mill taxes and all special taxes on
real and personal property, which are
paid into the state treasury and the
repeal of the last permanent surtax
on income taxpayers.
"The advantage of this plan is to
have but two systems of taxation,
namely: taxes on real and personal
property for local purposes, and in
come taxes for the purposes above
designated, doing away with surtaxes
on incomes and mill taxes on real
and personal property.
''No state except Wisconsin redis-
tributes the income tax to the assess
ment districts where the tax is as
sessed. The state under this bill re-
tains very small part in the state
treasury and redistributes practically
all the income taxes on three bases,
namely:
"1) According to the assessed val
uation, through relieving real and
personal property from mill taxes and
special taxes;
"(2) By redistributing portion
of the income tax on the basis of
school attendance, and
'(3) Leaving in the districts where
the tax is assessed SO 2-3 per cent
of the whole tax.
''The net effect of the suggested
plan returns to the communities 70
per cent, of the income tax, SO 1-3 per
cent being. redistributed on the basis
of the school apportionment, and
SO 2-3 per cent being redistributed to
the towns, cities and villages where
the taxpayer resides, and of course
the general property of the state is
relieved of the additional mill tax
and special tax retained in the state
treasury the $1,00O,O00 appropriated
to the teachers retirement and the
small balance heretofore more speci-
fically set for.
"The entire expense of administra7
ton is borne by the state.
'The secrecy clause repeal is in
Guided herein.
Removes Most of Offset.
''Under the plan of apportionment
the only amount out of which a per-
sonal property offset can be available
is the So 2-3 per cent of the income
tax payable into the local assessment
districts; so clearly there cannot be
allowed an offset for personal proper
ty taxes paid exceeding that amount.
''The fact is, any repeal of the per-
sonal property offset will not reduce
the real and personal property tax of
the great multitude Of the people of
Wisconsin.
Penalties for Unpaid Taxes.
There is one other important change
in policy suggested. The plan sug-
gested follows very closely the fed
eral plan with respect to unpaid tax
es because of fraudulent or incorrect
returns. The policy suggested is the
imposition of an income tax not ex-
ceeding so per cent of the back taxes
withheld, depending entirely upon the
willfulness, the fraud or the negli-
gence and also providing for the pay
ment of interest on such taxes with
held at the rate of six per cent, ex
cept in the case of an assessment
made on a voluntarily corrected re-
turn, in which case the interest is
waived.
''In connection with this specific
communication, I desire to call atten-
ton to some questions of finance. We
are pledged to a program of economy.
I trust this pledge will be carried out
substantially. Section 2O:74, known
as the emergency appropriation stat
ute should be modified. 1t gives I'M
limited power to three. officials to
grant emergency appropriations. In
my opinion the powers of the emerg-
ency board should be limited to an
amount not exceeding 100000.
Urge Cut in Guard Funds.
81 further recommend that the spe-
cial 100000 appropriation to the ma
tional guard be stricken from the
statutes. This statute was written
into the law in 1919 by the vote of
some of those who now vociferously
charge the national guard with being
militaristic organization. This pro-
vision should never have been adopt
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