The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1923-02-16
INHERITANCE TAX
WINS In HOUSE
MEASURE RECOMMENDED FOR
PASSAGE AFTER A NUMBER
OF AMENDMENTS ARE VOTED
DOWN.

Surviving a hot barrage of amend
ments, offered largely by Lowndes
Maury Of Silver Bow county, who
directed the attack on the measure.
Montana's proposed new inheritance
tax law was recommended for passage
in committee of the whole house SEES
sion Thursday morning. The measure
now goes to third reading for final
passage before its transmittal to the
senate for concurrence.
A woman, Mrs. T. M. Facey of
Phillips county, who introduced the
inheritance measure, proved an able
champion Of the bill and successfully
attempts made to tear out the heart
Of the bill.
In all, % amendments, written
largely by Maury of Silver Bow. were
offered but of these only eight were
adopted, and most of the eight merely
corrected errors of tipping in the bill
Exemption Decreased
One important amendment, adopted
upon motion of Pope of Missoula. de-
creases the exemption under which
the proposed law, substituting the fig-
ures $4,000 for $4,000, and $4,000
for $4,000 in the following section:
Property Of the clear value of
$4,000 transferred to the wife or
$4,000 to the husband of the decd
ent, and $4,000 transferred to each of
the other persons described in the first
subdivision of section 2 shall be ex-
empt. Such exemption to the widow
shall include all her statutory dover
and other allowances. Any child of
the decedent shall be entitled to cred
it for so much of the tax paid by the
widow as applied to any property
which shall thereafter be transferred
by or from such widow to any such
child, provided the widow does not sur
vice said decedent to exceed 10 years. "
In offering his amendment Pope
declared that he did not believe the
bill should tax only rich people, and
that those of moderate means should
be forced to contribute to the states
Golfers under the bill.
Bonus Fund Loses.
Duffy Of Hill county startled the
house by offering an amendment, pro-
viding that funds collected under the
measure should go into state fund
for soldiers bonus, instead of into
fund for the states schools. The
Duffy amendment was voted down by
margin of three votes.
Mrs. Facey holly opposed Duffy's
amendment and launched into an ex-
position of the critical period facing
Montana's schools. She declared that
in many districts excessive levies are
being paid by tax property owners
and that the schools were badly in
need of additional funds.
Maury Of Silver Bow waxed bitter
at times in his attempt to amend the
measure. He said the bill was a Chi
nese puzzle and that only Chinaman
could understand its provisions. He
also charged that the measure was
drawn up by a stenographer, who
copied it from the laws of the state
of Wisconsin.
Hints "IH Wind"
"This senographer," shouted Maury,
"was sitting by a window when she
copied the bill. The wind was blow
ing; the wind blew over two or more
pages Of the book from which the
was copying the bill and
the stenographer never turned the
pages back but kept right on copying.
Hence the bill is without sense or
Mrs. Facey, who introduced the in
heritance bill, beamed with satisfac-
ton when the measure was recon-
nended for passage. In an interview