Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1936-10-08
SALES TAXCETS
A BODY BLOW
Pine City Merchant Calls
Proposal Dangerous to
Border Business.
Announces Awakening of
Citizens in Every County
of the State.

Louis Milgrom, Pine City merchant,
and vice chairman of the Independent
Merchants and Consumers Anti Sales
Tax League, fired real broadside
into the balloon of the element who
wants a sales tax enacted in this
state. This is seen as a forerunner
of the strenuous opposition this form
of taxation will receive by the mer-
chants and consumers of Minnesota.
Mr.. Milgrom statement follows:
AS an Independent merchant in
terested in the welfare of my own
business and also that of my mer-
chant friends and consumers in Pine
City and in Pine county, l wish to
express my opinion as to the dangers
of the constitutional amendment No.
2, known as the YOungquist Amend
ment
The passage of this amendment at
the next general election would mean
that the State of Minnesota would be
saddled with sales tax which would
be nuisance tax enforcing our GUS
toners to pay tax on every sale
or purchase made in this county and
in this state. The tax would not be
paid by the mail order houses or in
terstate business. A most dangerous
fact for our community and county,
Carlton, Washington, Winona and
Wabasha, which are right on the
Wisconsin border.
For instance, the city of Duluth
will suffer dOubly as it will lose
hundreds of thousands of dollars of
business to the border Wisconsin
towns where they have no sales tax,
nor are they planning sales tax
system. Automobile dealers will most
likely be the chief losers as citizens
on the border line will have a de-
cided financial advantage to go across
the line to buy car without the pay
ment of sales tax. If as in the
proposed omnibus bill, the tax is three
per cent, this would make quite a
saving to the automobile buyer on
six hundred or thousand dollar car.
This will apply also to other mer-,
chants such as hardware merchants.
dealers in heavy machinery, clothiers,
grocers and druggists 1t will build
up Wisconsin border towns at the ex-
pense of our Minnesota border VIII
Lagos and cities. Hundreds of thou
sands of dollars, yes millions of dol
lars, of business will be transferred
from Minnesota to Wisconsin, thus
Gripping our business in our villages.
and cities.
1T is time for us merchants and
customers to unite against this most
dangerous tax system. Only recently
l noticed the following excellent ar
ticle opposing the sales tax in the.
Kanabec County Progressive, and a
comment by Harold Hanson, the head
of the Mora Chapter of the Community
Builders, an organization of independ-
emit merchants:
For the first time in the history
of the state, the business men have
banded themselves together to defeat
a legislative measure. When the 81
counties are completely organized it
seems a foregone conclusion that any
sales tax proposal will be defeated
when it comes before the legislature.
The inroads made by chain interests
are rapidly making the Independent
business men aware of the necessity
of banding together to protect their
own interests and achieve their aim.
Consumers by the thousands have
enrolled in the movement to fight
the enactment of sales tax. They
are uniting with the retailers and are
prepared to wage a severe battle
against the enactment of a program
calling for a nuisance tax.
Chairman Harold Hanson, former
All American guard at the " under
CONTINUED on Page 81