Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1935-12-19

Power Company, paying real estate.
personal property, and moneys and
credits taxes on a valuation of approx
imately $53.OOO.OOO, and dividends
100000. Holding companies down
east in the state Of New Jersey get
in on the big dividends.
The corporate excess tax law should
be state wide proposition. to he ad-
ministered by the State Tax Com
mission, rather than to have assess
ments made locally. 1t stands to rea-
son that a person in the State Tax
Commission who may assess twenty
five, fifty or hundred corporations
can do that with much more cfti-
cheney and accuracy than local
township, village or city assessor who
may have but one or two corporations
in his taxing unit.
1t has also been proposed to use
the receipts from the corporate excess
tax for old age pensions. 1t would
take away but little revenue from
local taxing units for the simple rea-
son that the corporate excess tax has
brought much less than an average
of a million dollars annually in the
entire state of Minnesota over per-
iod of twenty years, due to lack of
enforcement.
AS above stated, the corporate ex-
cess is assessed at 40 per cent of full
and true value. If the average mill
rate of 70 in the state was applied
AGAINST the 40 per cent assessment.
that would make for rate equal to
29.2 mills upon the full and true
value 1t has been proposed that If
the law were made state wide, the
tax assessed by the State Tax Com
mission, and the revenue allOcated
to old age pensions, that the cOrpOr-
ate excess be taxed at flat rate
of 25 mills on the full and true value.
1t is just tax based on the ability
to pay and will hurt no one.
In TIE case of Adams Express Com
pany VS.. Ohio. 166 U. S. 1875, decided
way back in 1897, the Supreme Court
of the United States approved of the
corporate excess tax. The opinion
which was written by Justice Brewer
is published herewith in part:
1.-The intangible property of an eX-
press company. created Ivy the acQuiSi-
ton of franchises or privileges and the
combined use of it's TANGIBLE property
i'm several states. is distributed wher-
ever the tangible property Is located
and the work is done Its SituS for
taxation is not confined to the state by
Il; IN. fnr.
in which it's home office is located
In the complex civilization of to-day. a
large portion of the wealth of com
munity consists In intangible property.
and there is nothing in the nature
of things or in the limitations OF the
federal constitution which restraints a
state from taxing at it's real value such
that it is property which. though in
tangible. exists. which has value. pro-
duces income. and passes current IN
the markets of the world Now.
whenever separate articles of tangible
property are joined together. not SIM
ply by unity Of ownership but in a
unity of use, there is not infrequenty
developed a property. intangible though
it may be. which in value exceeds the
aggregate OF the value OF the separate
that there can he no such intangible
property. that it is something of no
value. is to insult the common intel'i-
Cardinal rue. which should never be
forgotten. that whatever property is
worth for the purposes of income and
sale 1T is also worth for purposes OF
taxation"
If the corporate excess tax law is
amended as above proposed in this
special session of the Minnesota Leg
islature, and the tax collection Is
enforced there will be no need fol
looking further for old age pension
revenue There is so much talk oil
high general property taxes and yet
conservatives in the Legislature want
to shoulder part of the burden of ole
age pensions on the counties where
practically only general property
taxes are collected. Here is an Oppor
tunity for the Legislature to ease uI
on real estate and personal property
taxes. Will it be done?