The people's voice., 1957-11-29


subject of taxation, and in varying
degrees. on educational problems
Other panel members besides Mis-:
McNelis. were: J. M. Peterson, Pol
son. Joint Tax Study Committee; j. F
Reid. Helena. chairman Board OF
Equalization; P. j. Gilfeather, Great
Falls, deputy Cascade county attorney
in charge of tax matters, and Carl In
fanger, Helena, executive secretary
of the Standardization Commits
sion.
In opening the panel, Miss McNelis
said that she is "traditionalist" who
''believes one must be well-lettered
in the fundamentals" and that we
must educate our children to the
greatest point of their ability to
assimilate - Looking at taxation,
she took note of the continuing cam
paign to secure acceptance by Mon
tana people of the 'inevitability of a
general sales taxi. AS to this, she
asked: ''How can the people possibly
tolerate a sales tax when it is so
basically wrong in principle?"
CLEANUP JOB NEEDED
Jack Reid told the institute that
''No new tax laws are needed :. but
a cleaning up job on old tax laws'' is
long past due. Reviewing the many
loopholes whereby payment of huge
amounts of tax revenues is avoided
Reid said he was of the opinion that
corrective legislation must be had to
close the loopholes whereby out-of
state residents, having Montana in
vestments, evade paying state income
tax and foreign corporations evade
full payment of corporation license
taxes. He also said that legislation
must be enacted to get such "intang
ible" properties as stocks and bonds,
cash in bank deposits, etc., on the in
come tax roles-that intangible prop
erty is paying practically no tax as
contrasted with the heavy tax burden
carried by tangible property. He sug
gested a revamp of the income tax
laws might make it possible to collect
taxes off such ''intangibles".
Reid also proposed scrapping the
present corporation net income Ii
cense tax, replacing it with gross
income tax. This type of
tax. he said would make it possible
for the Board of Equalization to col
ect income taxes off the full and
rue amount of business done in Mon
ANA by out-of-state chartered oil,
machinery and other cor
oorations operating in Montana.
The state tax official said that
lnless 1--WE do a corrective job on our
present forms of taxation, including
Upward revision of the income tax,
ONE legislature in the very near fu-
ure will enact "sales tax as the
asy way OUT
PEOPLE REALLY INTERESTED"
Attorney Gilfeather, in opening his :
emarks concerning the "local tax :
cene'', noted the increasing public
interest in taxation and said that
when people get interested in this n
ry subject they're really trying to
ct some education" o
Gilfeather briefly reviewed the t.
problems of county assessors, the e
ack of trained assessment men to g
serve in such capacities, and the v
always constant reminder to as II
SCISSORS that there's another cleo d.
ion coming.
He agreed with Reid that no funda- M
entail changes are needed in our tax ST
WIS. that the need can be met by ia
ome revamping in processes of ad- lie
an d in legislative ia
nendment to bring present laws up ns
date. He supported the classifica- re
IN law under which all property is be
pposed to be assessed at full and
ue value, and then is put in certain in
as to usage for taxa at
IN purposes. He opined that the CO
lssification laws placing dwellings on
the 33 315 per cent class for taxa sa
n is no longer realistic, that that OF
ssification should be dropped to Gu
per cent. re-
Montana, Gilfeather pointed out, WI
unlike almost any other state in dr.
It we are neither in the arid or be-