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Show Support Tax Amendments ; Remedy to Lighten Burden rights, improvements and machinery. The constitution requires the legislature legis-lature to tax metal mines according to their net annual proceeds and since this amendment was passed in 1019 metal mines have been valued by multiplying mul-tiplying not proceeds by three plus surface rights, improvements and machinery. ma-chinery. This has been inequitable as between mines and in some instances the taxes have consumed from 25 to 50 per cent of the net profits of the small ore mines while the taxes on o'ne mine have amounted to only 8 per cent of the net profits in some years. Quoting George H. Ryan, mining engineer and chairman of the legislative legis-lative advisory commitee : "If the state is to prosper and a.dvance, we must .make conditions attractive for outside capital to come in and develop our natural resources. This could be done only if the proposed amendment is passed and the way opened for a fair and equitable system which will apply the cardinal rule of taxing according to ability to pay." No. 5.. Creating a State Tax Commission Com-mission This amendment will work for greater economy and efficiency in government by giving the legislature legisla-ture authority to grant additional powers to a central taxing body. It would make it possible to follow in our public affairs the best methods adopted by all successful business concerns by giving the centralized supervision su-pervision that has been repeatedly proved to be essential to success. This tax commission will not be an additional state department, but would be substituted for the present state board of equalization. If it was found to be to the best interests of the state and its people, the legislature legis-lature could give- . the .. commission powers which the present board does not have. These powers might include some further supervision over local tax rates, bond isues, public accounts, ac-counts, tax. research, centralized administration ad-ministration collection of several special state taxes and other powers but only if the people through their duly elected representatives to the legislature thought it wise to give such powers. The taxpayer could also be given the right to appeal to this commission when justice cannot be obtained from the local officials. Quoting Dr. Thomas A. Beal, Dean of the School of Business, University of Utah: "If the people wish to take an advance step, which will go a long way toward insuring more efficient administration of taxation and greater great-er equality in distributing the tax burden as between taxpayers, they should vote 'Yes' to amendment authorities, it has been repeatedly found that no tax relief can be given giv-en to overburdened home owner and holder of real estate until the constitution consti-tution is first amended to remove exemptions now given to intangible property and to allow classification so that intangibles may be taxed differently dif-ferently than tangibles. No. 2. Classification of Property The principal changes proposed 1 by this amendment are simply to repeal all exemptions granted to intangible property and give power to the legislature legis-lature to classify and tax intangibles at low rates either as property or to tax the income received from it. The legislature is required to select one or the other method but may not do both. Quoting Edward II. Snow, chairman, chair-man, State Board of Equalization: "If this amendment No. 2 is adopted, all stock of corporations, whether foreign for-eign or domestic, all bonds, all notes, all securities, all dividends, all credits, will be subjected to taxation within such rate limitations as have been proved by experience in other states to be economically sound. "If the taxpayer wants to continue to collect all the direct taxes from farms, homes, livestock and the like, then he should vote 'No,' but if he wants, intangible property taxed also, and part of the untaxed income to be "brought to the tax rolls, then he should vote 'Yes' to amendment. No. 2." If the income tax method is followed fol-lowed by the legislature then experience exper-ience in other states justifies the positive posi-tive assurance that there will be income in-come tax exemptions given so that only the man or woman with large earnings who is not now paying a just share of taxation, would be subjected sub-jected to the income tax. Guarantee given for tax relief The amendment gives a positive guarantee guaran-tee that the new revenues will not provide additional money to be spent but will be used to reduce the tax collected from homes, real estate and other tangible property. This is required re-quired by the amendment which reads: "All revenue received from taxes on income or from taxes on intangible property shall be allocated as follows: fol-lows: 75 per cent thereof to the state district school fund and 25 per cent thereof to the state general fund and the state levies for such purposes shall bei reduqed annually in proportion propor-tion to the revenues so allocated." No. 3. Equalization of educational opportunity This amendment would provide a means for guaranteeing to every child of school age the opportunity oppor-tunity of having a fair standard of education in the fundamentals of in- The Citizens' Tax Revision league has issued the following statement tattle ta-ttle people of the state to explain briefly the principal purposes of each of the tax amendments upon which the people will vote next November 4th: These amendments have 'been carefully care-fully prepared after thoroughgoing research and study and are being recommended rec-ommended almost by the unanimous vote of the legislature as well as by ' practically all of the officials. These men believe that the amendments will work for the betterment of tax conditions con-ditions in Utah generally and for the advancement of the prosperity of the state. The amendments will bring about greater equality and justice in taxation taxa-tion by bringing on to the tax rolls hundreds of millions of intangible property such as stocks, bonds, notes and securities, which are now escaping escap-ing direct taxation. They would also allow the legislature to work out greater equality in taxing real estate, improvements, livestock and other tangible property, which now carry practically all of the tax load. They would shift part of the costs of government gov-ernment and of education from the backs of the present taxpayer to the holder of intangible property and the man earning large incomes which are not now helping to pay the bill. At the same time they would provide for equalizing educational advantages and in so doing tend to relieve the property pro-perty owner in many sections of the state who is now paying a heavy cost for school support. They would provide pro-vide a means by which the legislature could work toward greater economy and efficiency in government by setting set-ting up a central tax body to administer admin-ister the tax system and work toward preventing waste in public expenditures. expendi-tures. At present our tax system exempts practically all intangible property from taxation and places practically all the burden of supporting the government gov-ernment upon property which produces pro-duces only one-fourth of the income earned in the state. This means simply sim-ply that we are forcing one-fourth of the state's income to pay for giving the benefits of government to all property, all income, and to all individuals. indi-viduals. Because three-fourths of the income pays no direct tax, it works a hardship upon those who are contributing con-tributing to the support of government govern-ment by forcing them to pay the whole bill while allowing so much property and so much of the state'3 income to escape direct taxation. Const it ul ional Amendments are necessary. After numerous investigations investi-gations by the legislature and tax No. 5." . No. 1. Filling Legislative vacancies. vacan-cies. This amendment would allow the legislature to avoid the expense of calling special elections to fill vacancies in the legislature and in congress. No. 6. Prison Removal. This amendment will allow for removal of the state prison outside of Salt Lake county if and when it is decided to remove the prison. Why we should vote "Yes" on these amendments now. Repeated attempts have been made to change our tax laws which are recognized on every hand as ancient and out of date. Some property owners have been over-burdened while other people of greater income and wealth have been allowed to go almost tax free. The prosperity prosper-ity and progress of our state has been held back by our ancient and unjust tax laws. The changes have been proposed after years of investigation investi-gation and minute study. ' The opportunity is here to get tax relief on our over-burdened homes, farms and tangible property. We should untie the hands of the legislature legis-lature to provide this relief by bringing to the tax rolls the great amount of untaxed wealth in the state. We must vote "Yes" on the tax amendments at the polls on November No-vember 4th. Another chance may not I come for 20. years. struction and if approved with ' Amendment No. 2 would also provide a means for shifting part of the costs of education from homes, farms and other tangible property to stocks, bonds and other intangibles. At present the burden of education 1 falls almost entirely on the tangible property owner and many school districts dis-tricts are being stifled under high rates of taxation to support even modest educational facilities. Amendment No. 2 and 3 would provide that intangible property or large incomes should provide a special school fund of about $750,000 to be distributed for equalization. It would also open up the way for the legislature legisla-ture to reduce the local school tax rates thereby granting the present taxpayer some relief from the educational educa-tional costs by shifting part of the load to the person or property not now paying a fair share of the bill. Quoting Dr. C. A. Smith, Superintendent Superin-tendent of the Provo City Schools: "Do the people of L'tah want to open for school equalization and at the same time shift part of the school costs from tangible property to income in-come or intangibles? If so they should vote 'Yes' on Amendments Xos. 2 and 3." No. -1. Mine Taxation. This amend-1 amend-1 ment is designed to allow the legislature legis-lature to work out a better and more equitable method of determining the value of a metal mine for taxation purposes if a better method is found. At present the mines are given a ! constitutional guarantee that unless ; they earn net proceeds they shall not be taxed except on their surface |