The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1925-11-12
COMMON SENSE
TAXATION PLEA
Secretary of State Raps
Administration for Anti
Economy Attitude
BEGIN AT THE TOP
Urges New Reforestration Pro-
gram to Save Wisconsin's
Lumber Industry.

AOAhOC1 1AtU "
'If Wisconsin really wants an eco
nomy program in the administration
of its state government it, must begin
at. the state house and go all the way
down the ranks to the lowest corner
of the state. It must be relieved of
this bunkum emanating from several
sources about taxation. Wisconsin is
a good state. 1t has much in it to
admire and to love-. And you gentle
men know also, you who have made a
study Of the situation in the state,
that there is much in it that ought
to be made right or better"
In emphatic words of this tenor the
Hon. Fred r. Zimmerman, secretary
of state for Wisconsin, addressed the
meeting of the Optimist club at the
Elks' club this noon. The Optimists
had as their guests representatives
from Rotary, Kiwanis and the Ameri-
can business clubs, and their guests
also included the two honorary MEM
,bers of the club, Judge w. H. Afford
and Judge T.. d. belden.
Uncovered Mystery Cloak.
The speaker chose to present pic
ture of existing situations in Wiscon-
sin along three varying lines: The
state conservation program, the care
and administration Of the states char
liable and penal institutions; and
that much maligned and much misun-
derstood taxation question"
The secretary's stand on taxation
related in part:
Neglect Important Day.
"To be consistent we must kick
and think at the same time. Kick be-
cause thing is wrong, and think how
to make it right, or better. That is
the formula for progress. Unfortun-
ately, we do not always do this, es-
pecially in regard to political matters.
We kick 364 days in the year and then
vote wrong on the 365th. We kick
about our taxes all the time. There
is no closed season for this subject.
This is no longer habit; it is dis
ease; and it has become chronic be-
cause the people have never made a
serious effort to cure it. There is no
consistency about it; we just kick;
that's all, except that we pay our tax
es even while we are kicking about
them.
"Why do we kick about taxes ?
Don't the people have direct voice
in making the tax laws? Don't we
levy the taxes ourselves? If it will
make our taxes too high to raise the
money to pave the street, we don't
have to pave it; do we? If it will
cost too much to build better school
house than our nearest neighbor city
built, we can get on with a cheaper
one, can't we? Well, perhaps we can't.
At any rate we don't. We go right
ahead and build better schoolhouse
and pay a higher tax, and then kick!
Isn't that fact?
Too Many Blunders.
eve lay down the dictum that ev-
eryone should pay taxes according to
his ability to pay. But that is hum
bug. The laws make no such distlnc-
ton; and our lawmakers don't either
They Just go laundering ahead, and
when they get through with one blum
Dire they start another. l know, be-
cause I've helped them do it.
eff you think this picture is over
drawn look at these facts:
"a man has $4,000. If he loans II
on a mortgage at 6 per cent he will
receive $500 year interest, and the
most he will ever pay on that property
is So a year income tax. 1t the Dor-
rover fails to pay the interest the
lender will pay no tax at all.
eff he invests the $4,000 in lot in
one of the larger cities of this state
he will pay tax of about $11O, with
out reference to income.
eff he invests the $4,000 in a five
ton truck to haul gravel for highway
construction, he will pay personal
property tax the first year of about
S120. His license will cost $3.50, and
he will pay two cents gasoline tax for
every four miles it travels. If the
truck is wrecked or destroyed SO 1T
can produce no income; it makes no
difference except that the owner saves
the gasoline tax.
Explains Where it Hits.
"Here we find that the community
value, or taxing value, of property
valued at $4,000, depends on the form
in which we find it. If it is an abb
solutely safe investment, SO there, can
be little doubt about its constant val
ne, we tax it So. If it is invested in
permanent property. but with possi-
bilities of either decreasing or in
creasing in value, we tax it $3.50. II
it is invested in extremely perishable
property, which may be entirely
worthless in minute, and which, in
any event, depreciates rapidly, we tax
it 1910 plus.
Economists tell US that it is wise
rule to tax lightly the things we want
to encourage, and to put heavy tax
on the things we want to discourage.
That looks like a sensible rule but if
our tax-law makers ever heard of it
they must have read-it Hebrew
fashion, from right to left. They not
only got the cart in front of the mule,
they turned the mule upside down be-
fore they hitched him.
Dut, pOSSiUAy1 all -"HOHS. CT
haps we do want to encourage people
to mortgage their property; perhaps
we do want to discourage to use of
trucks and automobiles. In that case
we are on the right track, but we
ought to subsidize the manufacturers
of wheelbarrows, then we should have
no cause for kicking"
WI c,,t Eoras4 Esras