Askov American., 1937-05-27
State Capitol News
BY A. I. HARRIS

BY A. I. HARRIS
Substantial reductions in the state
realty and property levies, as well
as approval of the bill exemptlng
the first $4,000 full value of home
.stealas from the state tax, was rec
<1xmex1ded by Governor Benson this
week in a message to the special
session of the state Legislature.
The Governor also requested tax
xxogram which would reduce the
rniIlage rate to less than 10 mills
for each year of the biennium, and
at the same time balance the states
budget while providing sufficient
funds for social security and relief.
Increased taxes on mining companies
and elimination of the conditions per-
mitting the present tax strike by the
mining trust were likewise asked.
The House interim tax committee
had put final touches to its program
to be introduced during the special
session. and more than twenty meas
l,res were expected. Notable among
them was one urging chain store
taxation upon the basis of the Louis
lana chain store tax system, just
upheld by the United States Supreme
Court.
1t was promised last week by the
interim group head, Harold Barker,
that the House program would carry
out the administration tax plans,
namely ones based upon real ability
to pay. Likewise, the new set of
proposals would, if passed, work to
discourage the present high rate of
tax delinquency by taxing not those
unable to pay but ''those with abil-
ity to pay" their share.
The tax problem revolves around
the need to raise an additional ST.
100000 or S18,O00,000 in revenue,
to cover increased costs of state ac-
tivitieS.
Efforts were being made this week
to split liberal forces, with lower
House reactionaries, led by Republi-
can representative Roy Dunn, falling
in behind the candidacy of John
White for speaker in opposition to
Harold Barker. Little danger was
seen in the move.
According to T. H. Arens, conserv-
ator of the department of rural cred
IT, sales of state-owned farm lands
for the first four months of 1887 in
creased one third over correspond
ing period last year. From Janu-
AIRY to April, inclusive, 154 whole
farms We're sold and As partial sales
were made, with total acreage of
23,030 to be put under the plow.
Assertions that the AdminiStra-
tion tax program is injurious to busi-
ness are proved erroneous when
careful analysis of the Administration
program as contained in the House
bill is made. Figures show con-
clusively that corporations with
net income of under $4,000 a year
by far the greatest number of corpor-
ations in the state-would pay less
taxes in every instance than under
the provisions of the Senate omni-
bus bill
The Senate bill would aid certain
corporationS-thoSe with a net in
come of $4,000 or more year, and
the higher the income the lower are
the Senate taxes in comparison with
the taxes imposed by the House bill.
The average business has far more
to fear from the Senate omnibus tax
bill than from the Administration
program.
Prices are going up, as any one
knows who looks into his pocketbook
very carefully. According to a check
up by the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture, farmers in April paid 134 per
cent of the pre-War average for
commodities purchased Although the
level of prices received for farm
products is also considerably higher,
it is primarily due to drouth and
affects farmers in only few areas.
Need for expanding the third party
movement to the Dakotas, Iowa, Mon
tana and Michigan was stressed by
Henry RutZ, state secretary of the
Wisconsin Farmer-Labor Progressive
Federation, in a visit to Minnesota
last week. He pointed out that it
was up to the coordinated committee
eof the two states to send out special
organizers to contact farm and labor
groups in the surrounding states and
form political organizations similar
to those in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Support of Secretary of Agriculture
Wallace for a new AAA with complIl-