Show i jesse knight presents his amendment argument sa ft jesse knight the veteran mining operator of the district has prepared the following argument against the passage of the propose proposed d amendment to the state constitution pertaining to the taxation of the mines the method designed fit fn the pro posed amendment tor for taxing mines Is wrong in principle contrary to the theory and spirit of our american government savors of and should be defeated by the voters of 0 the state regardless of political affiliations to delegate such powers to a board chosen by a partisan govern or and responsible to him only woul take away the rights of the people e be extremely dangerous and might result in confiscation of pro perty tl TI e amendment places no dimita lion whatever on the board of equal in assessing net proceeds of metal mines to confer by the or ciganic ganic law of the state such ed power upon an appointed board awauld be infamous ft jv the proposed amendment was not introduced until the last day of the legislative session indeed several days after the constitutional period had expired and was passed with out notice without hearing and with out due consideration it must be remembered that our constitutional provisions on taxation were framed after mature dealbera dell bera tion by a non partisan constitution convention chosen tor for that specific duty by the people who adopted and ratified their work it should not be tinkered with or amended with out grave consideration and impera tive necessity which does not exist mine owners and operators expect and desire to pay their proportion 0 of f all additional revenue necessary to meet the requirements of the state in general and the schools in parti cular our federal government has shown the most equitable method oi ot taxation namely the income tax both for individuals and corpora eions our constitution already pro vides for an income tax consequent ly no amendment Is necessary A state income tax will provide all the additional revenue necessary and place the burden equitably instead of leaving such distribution to th the e whims and prejudices of an appoint ive board already we are making our in come returns in compliance with na lional law this method has met and will meet the national require ments and Is worthy of adoption by the states on the other hand the proposed amendment to the constitution it adopted would retard our develop ment and would be the beginning ot of class legislation in this state a thing most to be deplored and would not provide a just or final settlement of the tax problem reduced to plain language it means constantly increasing powers to the board of equalization who thereby can favor their personal friends and penalize their political enemies it is taxation without re presentation in its worst form and therefore violates every fundament fun damen tal american principle it opens an avenue for political corruption and invites graft and blackmail the principle of the national in come tax appeals to the public sense of justice notwithstanding the heavy burdens it imposes our legislature without cons titu lional amendment has full power to enact such laws as are necessary to meet any revenue situation and this Is as it should be thereby in the words of thomas jefferson pre serving inviolate the fundamental principle that the people are not to be taxed but by representatives cho isen sen immediately by themselves theme elvee |