Show TAX equalization N RATES state board of equalization 1 issues S stat ein eni E pla ining provision under new levy an active campaign having been ed by the tha utah chapter af 0 f the american Amei ican mining congress to defeat ihlo proposed prop obed aad amendment to ale the state institution rela relative five to tax tion 0 q the state iiii beard ard of I 1 has per er pared a statement explaining its provisions ro tho the amendment changes the present constitution making n g it possible to nl aw lowa a of property and to multiply ply tho iho net proceeds of mines minea by three und and then tevy levy the tax the last legislature lowered the levy on alftan all baxas as about one third of what it formerly was ab st that thai under tho the present law the mining companies are paying about ont onie third on their n net e t P proceeds proceeds this year as coffi compared pared to last year the mining companies have subscribed to tile fund fu n d to defeat the amendments and have paid workers about the state kate against its adoption the board of equalization denies the statement made by these workers that the amendment contains a joker 6 the boards board s statement ement follows Inagi inasmuch nuch as a a largo large fund has been raised and is being spent for the P purpose ur of defeating the proposed constitutional amendment that Is to bo be opted at the app rochine election and ana inasmuch as this bo board ard is by low ching ed with the despotis res responsibility of raising tafe revenue revenue to meet the appropriations P fiade by each su succeeding cc eadi p g legislature udave fia 4 deemed it r u to the e i tt inglot th the vp apts of the bought so 9 ht to 0 be accomplished by euch eh proposed d kindl ment tho 0 proposed amendment repeals 1 I tho tha provisions of the present constitution eulying ejus eul i ring the asies assessment of fill all properly prop orly at a uni uniform forin tate rate af assessment ment had provides ino instead tead in sect sec becton ton ton 1 that taxes shall be uniform upon the same class claa of property within the ter tei limits of the authority levying the tax this provi provision provi siou is i nt ended to permit the taxation of homes property used only as a shelter lor or the family to 6 be sexed at a lower rate ate i than is applied to 6 general property and is in conformity with tho generally accepted feeling that the building and beautifying of homes gauld be e encouraged n cou raged by light rather than alier be burdened burden edwith with the general prebi ht day heavy rates hence the proposal 1 and it neets he approval of practically every every prom prominent pro mient fent student of tay tation in the country to make this thi sila cia lis ss of property prope ety subject to lower than ban other property thin connot be done under oui our present constitution to correct old bl method ethil the second object sought to b be e accomplished by the arlo proposed iad amendment is to kive give ko the legislature power to correct what governor Gp vernor spry in his message to the legislature of 1911 characterized as the iniquitous and unjust bf the surface ground of mining cl claims airAs the present constitution requires that such land be tax edat the p price alilce paid tho govi erno ant therefore which ahia jn in the caas of memes is uniformly 5 per acre while coal lands vary adry 4 from 10 per acre such valuations to continue throughout all the time regardless of whether or not it be hel held d for investment be operating or be worked out and vil valueless ueless some boun couil ty assessor in this achte recognizing i the in of thesia these provisions ro have in the past arbitrarily tadeu apon thera themselves relves to assess coal lands landd at a price per acre in somo some owes basea un under agreement with the owners and while alle in our opinion the agreed price ernaie made the igi aggregate regate of all coal lands in jahe the county equal to what ii it would have hav e been if made under the constitution on and lows of the dite s tate yet we feel that no matter what justification justn cation there might seems seema to b ba for fortuch such departure from froin the provi provisions of the law it connot bo be iole tolerated rated we do not favor baior nor is this proposed proponed change iri the 66 6 6 constitution ifa tended 6 to bring about any increase lb ih the valuation of the surface ito ilita of raining claims but instead to permit the legislators s to io pass lows that malm more equitable the assessment of k uch hag claims as between themselves the thi d provision proposed by phily this s and ahe one stat natu arouses the billial opposition of the owners of the property affected afFect cd is that minus mine producing net proceed a shill shall be thad ad in in adal addition tion to fo the die taxa tax a tian of their surface rights and ari d hm fin and additional 1 aj 3 J v mint lentol of not to ext exceed eed three times alj the 1 amount of the net proceeds brodu produced ed the condit conditions lons that called fourth thin change were es follow sz keason for change prior to 1916 1910 the general property of the state has bee been n asses assessed sedat at approximately one third of its value not fiot withstand withstanding ing the fact that both tho conditions and at lows re rea quiren that it be assessed asae saed at full value the method provided by the con f ution for the of mines a and nd and mining clala claims is the only excel to 61 this is full fuh balile provision pro virion jn in y tho anso of non producing I 1 constitution provides that the land shall be assessed aes essed at the price arh the go government veeh ment per acre and not tt i what its selling value may be the ati tuon on f urther further provides that mines which pre operating at a net profit shall ve V js essed on these not net pro ceede in nearly lyall all cases the price paid the government per acre fur roine mineral ral land I 1 is s only 4 small fraction of it ita 3 actual value the assess ment on the ae acreage of producing mines atthe the price paid tho the government together with tho the aspiss assessment of the net proceeds is not in 0 our i opinion more than one fourth tho ratio other clossal blosse a of pro prop P erty is s assessed for the birst arst time in the history of the diate at ate a strong effort was made this year aarto to a sesa all property of the state at full value the levies having k been so reduced by ii UM 1 t te will ae less 64 ibi basl ta year As aa a result of this con condition i moil the valuation YA of the net proceeds of mines minei could not be increased and the thues assessed a 1 tem could 0 o aggregate nio fa than 1 40 il per r cent of whai they have b jan een in the pall past t al tax ivies ha having vi fiig be been e ii reaped C to tha extent t 11 tho the ittel procopi procedda proc odda of all the the M met in the state for 1316 are arc we are are sure no one would hold 0 out 61 t for r in moment that this comes near representing the full value of ci th mining claims of the state Il relation elation Is 14 maintained the proposal therefore to permia 1 the taxation of mines at not to ex e X aeed ahrea times timea their net proceeds proceed ay puta them practically where they havo have f always be n in relation to other prop erty and maini maintains main lains ains the same same comparative coin para tive ratio as as between mining i property and other classes of property profit y r 1 that hai haa always existed had the pr pro 0 posed co constitutional I 1 provisions been i in n effect this year the tax tak rolls of the J 1 q state would have been bea increased b by y AI tax levies could have been correspondingly deduc reduced d on all prop f erty to the benefit an and d relief of the y gene general il public and yet the mining companies pay no more taxes in comp pt trison with other tax taxpayers payers than 6 h have 6 done an n trie post past should shoula 5 the re resolution alution sl ution fail of addla adoption on the loss to the he tax rolls for next year will un 0 fadly fed ly be double what it has been for 1916 we insist that there is hi j joke oke in i thep the proposed r th taftt atre is ie nothing in it that the bonding power of the state stai 0 or oi r of oc any city county or other subdivision of the state or that will kieven 1 tion of debts from rom credit vai s no additional y ver ofphy of ariy kind la Is given the state ba ard of equalization although we readily grant that the resolution do doengi es v to the legislature boie soie some pow er denied by the constitution as it ii now exists power vhf which ic h is A duj our r judgment it should have power given in all state contAut constitutions fons recently hii enacted acted wt have no personal interest inie res t in tho the teatter and this communication la intended p only by way I 1 0 of io to the P public bublic |