Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1932-11-03
TAX REFORM is
MUCH NEEDED
CONTINUED from Page ~


placement tax-that it has simply
added to taxes and made for that
much more tax spending. This pipe
dream is brought up now to discredit
the income tax idea and. to try and
have the Minnesota voters turn down
the amendment to the constitution on
Nov. 8th.
In that connection just remember
these plain little facts:
Wisconsin is state much like Min
nesota dairying and general farming
being the principal occupation. The
general property tax for 1880 in Wis
cOnsin was $41.60 per capita while in
Minnesota it was $4839. The differ
ence is about what represents the in
come tax collections i'm Wisconsin,
The per capita indebtedness for all
governmental units i'm Wisconsin is
less than One-half as great as the
| average per capita Indebtedness for
the entire country.
In 1880 the total taxes of all kinds
| levied i'm wisconsin. including the in
come tax, was $62.65 per person. In
| Minnesota, it was 1886 per person,
or $1.01 more per capita in this state.
| If we take out the income tax from
| the Wisconsin total. then we have but
$500 per person for Wisconsin.
From this comparison it is apparent
/ that the income tax is not just an
| added tax, nor has it encouraged
spending.
| Actions Show for Replacement.
The friends of the income tax in
Minnesota are sincere in their pur-
pose to make it replacement tax,
tax to tighten the present burden
of general property taxes. People are
fully tax conscious and demand that
the proceeds of the income tax be
used to lower general property taxes.
1t is the opponents of the income tax
who say that it will just mean more
spending and that the legislature can
| not be trusted. If it cannot be trusted
then get a new one. In the case of
| the legislature the voters can do just
as they do when they desire changes
on the township board, the village
council, the school board. the county
board, Congress, and like they will
do this year in the case of the highest
office within the gift of the people
in this handmade a change.
The advocates of the income tax
in the last session of the Minnesota
legislature showed plainly where they
stood on the use of money to be de-
rived from such tax, for the statu-
tory BILL introduced in that session,
provided that the income tax money
should be used to take the place Of
present state taxes on property. That
would have left property taxes to be
raised only for county, town, city, vii
lage and school district purposes, and
would take considerable part of the
tax load off the farmer. home owner,
and smaller business places.
The real purpose back of the in
come tax is to equalize taxes placing
taxation more on basis of ability to
pay. OF course we want economy in
government, and especially so in
times like these. No prudent man
ever sQuanders. And of course we
want to cut public expenses.
Tax Dodgers Against 1t.
"Cut the taxes" is about all we
hear from those who are opposed
to the income tax and like to dodge
taxes. If taxes were cut in half with
out an income tax, general property
would still be paying a dispropor-
tiOnate share of the tax burden. Folks
without enough income will not have
to pay an income tax, but there is
in this state, as in other states, the
opportunity to collect some tax on in
tangible property such as fees, COM
missions, salaries, ETC., through the
medium of an income tax. This will
be paid by people who are not now
paying a direct tax or who are not
paying their prOpOrtionate share of
taxes.
If the income tax were as bad as
| some of our Minnesota reactiOnary
newspapers would like to have us be-
lieve. why then is this form of taxa
ton being adopted by more and more
states? Half the states of the Union
now have the income tax, and not one
of them so far has repealed that tax.
Then we also hear that scare of
| industry moving to other states on ac-
count of the income tax being adopted.
Wisconsin has had the income tax
for more than twenty years. Strange,
isn't it that Wisconsin factories have
| not moved to Minnesota where we
have not so far had the income tax?
| Bonded Indebtedness looks much