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Show Penny Wise OCCUPATIONAL TAX ON MINES Governor Bamberger's Pet Tax Scheme Passed by Legislature LAW WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE IN SIXTY DAYS EXTRA SESSION AVOIDED The state legislature and Governor Bamberger decided to increase the revenue of the . Stat of Utah by placing tho burden upon the mining Indus- try rnthcr than by passing the proposed income tax law to draw funds from the capitalists and big corporations. The ar- guments given were that the mining industry has not been bearing Its Just proportion of taxation and that taxing In- comes would tend to discourage capitalists from coming to Utah for investment in development enterprises. The Salt Lake Herald-Republican has the following regarding the new law: Mining companies to pay $1.00 for each employee, laborers excluded. exclud-ed. For 1917 the mines pay an assessed as-sessed valuation of three times the net proceeds and for 1918 on two times the net proceeds. The net proceeds of mines amount to $40,000,000 a-year in Utah and the tax will net almost $1,200,000 during the next two years. The state board of equalization ia to levy and collect the taxes and turn them into the state treasury. If a company is delinquent a flno of 5 per cent may be Imposed and interest at the rate of 12 per cent is to be charged, i Of the total amount collected 7-1 G goes to the school fund and 9-16 to the general fund. The house amended the bill so that 28 per cent of the amount apportioned to the general fund goes to the University of Utah and to the Utah Agricultural College. The state levy has been Increased to the constitutional limit. The levy for general purposes Is 2.4 mills, for district schools 2.4 mills and for high schools .2 of a mill. The resolution for a constitutional constitution-al amendment to tux mining property prop-erty at a multiple or submultlplo of its net proceeds passed. Governor Simon Bamberger won his fight against an Income tux and for a law taxing the mines of the state on a valuation of three tlmos their net proceeds. The governor's battle was successful when the legislature, legis-lature, on the eve of Its adjournment, adjourn-ment, passed the occupation tax on mines, and mining claims. The fight necessury to carry on (he mine taxation law In the house which had voted overwhelmingly for an income tux was one of the hardest hard-est conflicts of the session, but tho administration won out by a vote of 2(i to 18, with two absent and not voting. In addition tho levies for general purposes of tho stnto, for the district schools and for other oth-er purposes wero raised by the legislature legis-lature to the constitutional limit. In order that the required amount of revenue might be brought in to meet the appropriations bills and the general gen-eral expense of the state. For fear that the levies might bring In too much tax revenue the legislature placed the power of fixing the exact levies in the hands of the state board of equalization. No extra session of the legislature will be necessary for the present, since the legislature passed a resolution reso-lution submitting to the voters of the state a constitutional amendment amend-ment taxing mines at an ussessed valuation of a multiple or submul-tiple submul-tiple of the net proceeds of the mining min-ing properties and in addition passed pass-ed a resolution exempting real estate in the amount of $500 and personal property In the amount of $200 from taxation. |