Show adopt amendment an ali active campaign having been launched by the utah chapter ot of the american mining congress Con COD grees greos to 4 defeat the proposed amendment to the state constitution relative t tax atlon the state board of equalization has prepared a statement explaining its provision provis iono the amendment changes the pres ent constitution making it possible to allow a classification of property and to multiply the net proceeds of mines hy by three then levy the tax the last legislature lowered the levy on all taxes about one third of what it formerly was so that under the present law the mining corn coin are diving daving about on one third on their net proceeds tin ibis year as p compared to last year the mining iff companies have subscribed to the L W w w 5 fund to defeat the amendments and have paid workers about the state campaigning against its adoption the board of equalization denies the statement nade male by these work I 1 ers that the amendment contains a 6 joker the board s statement follows follon 8 inasmuch as a laige fund has bas been raised and is being spent for as 1 the purpose of defeating the propos ed constitute inal amendment that is to be voted upon at the approach ink election and inasmuch as this board is by law charged with the re of raising the revenue to meet the appropriations made by each succeeding legislature we have deemed it our duty to call to the at of all voters of the state the burp aes dougi t to be attained by such apropo proposed etl amendment the proposal pro propose 1 arrien amendment dment re peals the provisions ot of the present constitution requiring the assess ment of all property prop propel eity ty at a uniform 5 rate tate of assessment in d provides in steab seq W in section I 1 that faxe shall 1 m be u uniform adorf the same class t jl property within the territorial limits r of the authority levying the tax this taxation is intended t permit the taxation of homes non prodie ing used only ai as a shelter jor the family to be taxed at a low eytor thin than is applied to general property an i ib is in conformity with the generally accepted feeling that the building and beautifying of homes should be e encouraged u v raged by light taxation rather than that they be burdened with the general pre ent rit day heavy rates hance rice the ta pv dosal and it meet tl e approval ip of practically e avery I 1 of t fixation in antle lytt e country atto botke a e this class of arr pel ili eject t lofter rates than other property anis cannot be done under our pres ent constitution the second 01 object eject sought to be t by the proposed 7 1 A amendment is to give to the legible ltv power to correct what nhat govern or spry in his message to the legis 1 laruie of 1911 characterized as the iniquitous and unjust taxation of the surface ground of mining claims j 40 tie prasert constitution requires ti at such land be taxed at the price paid the government there ato A s fire fre which in the case u of metal lif leferious erious mines is uniformly sa 5 per acre while coal land vary varv from 10 per acre to such irions to c throughout all t the he time rey ardless les of whether or not it be held for investment be operating or be worked out and valueless some county asse assessors aw in this state recognizing the injustice of these provisions provis eions have in the past arbi branly taken upon them toas to as sess coal lands at a price per acre in some cas s under agree the donels and while in our opinion the agreed price made the aggregate valuation of all cog coil lands in the county equal to what it would hive have been if made under the constitution and laws of the stile state yet we feel thit that no matter what justification there might seem to be for such departure from the provisions of the law it cannot be tolerated we do not favor nor is tl 0 is proposed change in the conati aution i intended tn tt bring abou 6 ganv in creasa in ia the N al of the abar T face ground of mining claims but instead to permit tl ti e legislature to pass laws law that will make ale more equit able the as of such claims as between them themselves seles the third pr vision proposed by this amendment and the one that naturally arouses the special tl ti n f the owners of the property af fectea is thai that mines mine producing net proceeds shall be taxed in addition to the taxation of their surface rights and improvements an additional as ses of not to exceed three times the amount of the net pr i ceede produced fhe conditions condition s that called forth this proposed change as follows anor to 1910 1916 the general arp eriv of the state has been ase assed sed at one third of its vil ue notwithstanding the fact that both the constitute m n and statutory law r quires that it be assessed at full value the method provided by the constitution for the d ds t of mines and mining claims is the only exception to this lull value provis ton ion in the case of non producing mines the constitution provides that the land shall be asses essed ed at the puce price paid the goern government ment per acre and not at what its selling value may be the constitution further provide provides that mines which are oper abing at a net shall be assess ed on these net proceeds in bearb near ill all cases the price paid the g government per acre t f r mineral land is a small ismall fraction of its letual value the ae jesment t on the acreage of producing mines it the price paid the government together r with the assessment of the net Is is 14 not in our opinion orore than or e f burth arth the ratio at classes of proper property tv is ass assed sed for the first time in the history of the tate state a strong eff ellirt rt n is i made this year to assess ill property of the state at af full value the levies having been so reduce I 1 by the last legislature that the aggregate of all taxes to I 1 ie e collected n ubi ill be less es than f r list last As u a result of this vot V ot conditi oll the t alua tion ul tibe net proceeds of mines could not I 1 e increase I 1 and the taxes asse assessed sed against them coull coul I 1 not aggregate more than 40 pel pet cent of what they h hive ive been in the post past all the t ix levies having been reduced to that extent 4 the net proceeds cf ef ill all the mines in the state for 1916 are 21 ve we are sure no one aull I 1 hold out for g movement that this comes anywhere near rep resenting the full value of the mm min ing claims of the state the proper il therefore to per mit the taxation of mines at not to exceed three times their net pro ceede puts them practically where they have always been in relation to other property and maintains tha game same comparative ratio as be tween mining property pr perty and other cl a es of property that has always existed had the proposed conati tu provis provi nn sim been in effect t this year the tax rolls of the state would have haie been increased by 40 tax levies coul I 1 have been correspond corre spon bingly reduced on all prop erty to the benefit an I 1 relief of the general public and yet vet the mining companies apty no more taxes in comparison tj other tax payers th arthey anthey have hae dine in the past the resolution tail fail of adap ti n the loss to the tax rolls for next year will aly be double what it has been for 1916 1 e insist that there is no joker in the proposed amendment that there is nothing in it that increases inc eases the bonding power pon er of tf tie e state or of any city county or other sub dm divi si n of the tate state or that will pre ent the deduction of debts from credits no additional power of any kind is given the state board of n although we ne readily irant that the resolution does give to the legia legislature lature some power denied by the constitution as it now exists power which in incur our judgment julg ment it should have bave power giden in constitutions recently enacted we have no personal u interest in the matter ind and this communication is intended only by way nay of or tion W the IC 11 v |