Evening star., 1933-06-11
TAX PL|CAHON
| HELD MULTIPLYING
Association Finds Govern
nnents Treading on Each
/ Others Toes.
Erecial Dispatch to The star.

GpeciaI Dispatch to The Star.
CHICAGO. June 10.-In the scramble
for new sources of taxation, the Ameri-
can LEGISLATORS Association finds State
and Federal Governments treading on
one another's toes in a manner increas-
xrely painful to the taxpayer.
The result is, according to report
Hust prepared by the association, that
B point of diminishing returns has been
reached in some forms of taxation.
Also State governments, always hard
pressed to find adequate sources OF in
come, are confronted with increasing
Federal competition in those fields they
had exploited.
The American Legislators Associs-
Zion in February of this year sponsored
"a conference on conflicting taxation.
Out of this conference came an inter-
estlng commission on conflicting taxa
tion.
This commission in its first report
made five recommendations. They
were:
First. that gasoline taxes should be
confined strictly to State administra-
tion; second, that tobacco taxes should
be left to the Federal Government;
third, that taxes on electrical energy
should be levied by States and not by
the Federal Government; fourth, that
Congress should keep beer taxes largely
as Federal source, with States taxing
only for regulatory purposes; fifth, that
further study be given the general
sales tax before its ALLEGATION is made.
But since this report, the Federal
Government has come forward with
plan to add three-fourths of l per cent
to the present 1-cent gasoline tax. II
also intends to continue a tax on cleo
trfcal energy.
At the same time 13 States have
taken up consideration of tobacco
taxes and l3 States are considering
sales taxes, In addition to 10 which
already have adopted this mode OF
revenue raising.
Five States have adopted income
taxes since the first Of the year, with
anfome tax plans before seven other
legislatures. Four States have started
to1tax issues of stocks and bonds and
-four States are taxing admissions to
Aieaters and places of public amuse-
rnent. In fact, there are reported to
be. 323 cases Of dual impositions by
both Federal and State governments
upon the same tax base.
State governments have largely been
dependent. like local governments, on
general property taxes. They have
been hard pressed in recent years and
their finances now frequently are in
bad condition.
Estate and local expenditures have
been growing apace during the last two
decades and the revenues needed to
finance these rapidly mounting costs
have derived from single tax, the
general property tax" said Henry w.
Toll, executive director of the Legis-
aators Association. THE collections
under this one tax, which in practice
as mainly tax on real estate, account
for approximately three-quarters of all
State and local tax revenues at the
present time.
The general property tax has long
since cracked under the tremendous
strain to which It has been subjected.
Under the stresses of the current de-
preston it is beginning in many places
TO collapse utterly.
any substantial tax relief under the
present ALLEGATION of financial burdens,
as between the Federal Government
and the States, It is essential that the
States be allowed to exploit the maxi
mum limits Of productivity of the COM
pafatiyely few non-property taxes which
they are in a position to administer
effectively"
But competition goes ahead merrily
and the taxpayer foots the bill. When
the need for revenue becomes less
pressing there may be a chance to re-
vainp the laws with an eye to efficient
distribution of the burden and of the
Feturns, with less tax duplication.
tCopyright, 19331