OCR Text |
Show SPECIAL BOARD URGES RADICAL CHANGES IN SYSTEM OF TAXATION Enlargement of Powers of Equalization'Body iand Abolition of Poll Tax is Recommended. Full Value Assessments. Lower RatcsHeld Best. Preliminary Report of Commission Commis-sion Already Given Approval of State Officers. Will Go To Legislature in Present Form. Radical changes In revenue collections collec-tions and taxation aro recommended In a preliminary report completed yesterday by the board of commissioners commis-sioners on revenue and taxation, comprising com-prising C. S. Peterson, Harden Ben-nlon Ben-nlon and Francis W. Klrkham, to bo published nnd submitted to tho people peo-ple ln order to awaken public Interest Inter-est and discussion and finally to be presented to tho legislature ln tho form of a bill. Tho report has been submitted already al-ready to tho governor, attorney general, gen-eral, tho board of equalization and other stnto officials, who havo passed favorably upon It, and It will prob-nbly prob-nbly go to tho legislature In Its present pres-ent form. Among other things tho report recommends rec-ommends abolition of tho poll tax. Tho document states that whllo tho present rovenuo laws deserve tho worst that hns been said of them as being unequitable, unequal and contradictory thoy contain many ml-mtrnblo ml-mtrnblo provisions, which it is rec-ommonded, rec-ommonded, should rcmnin intnet. Board's Position Viewed As to iho powers ot tho board ot equalisation, It states that this body should havo general supervision over tho county assessors and recommends that taxpayers should be empowered to appeal to tho board direct or to boards ot county officials that tho assessor's as-sessor's salary should bo materially increased and his term of office bo four yenrs. Based upon laws existing In other stntcs, tho commltteo In Its report recommends that assessments bo mado at full valuo and that tho rate be lowered, thus systematizing a tax situation found troublcsomo In the past. In regard to tax ot personal property, It Is stated that tho rail-roadst rail-roadst n Utah arc taxed at a much higher rato than In other states traversed. tra-versed. On money and credits tlie report complains that the amount ot taxes Is very small and efforts in the past have failed in these collections. It recommends either the abandonment ot this tax or the classification of money and credits and taxation ot them at a low rate not less than three mills or moro than five mills and suggests a compromise mens-uro mens-uro to enable the stato to get what Is due it from this source. An entiroly now Inheritance tax Is recommended. Tho present rato Is declared too high, that peoplo arrango for tho transfer of their property, before be-fore death, In order to avoid tho tax. The now tnx, ns recommended, contains a moro liberal and attractive attract-ive policy. Tho .committee upholds an cqultnulo lucomo tnx. Tho tme consideration in deeds is nn important division of tho report recommendation being mado that thoso transferring real or personal piopero stato tho exact valuo of tho property In tho deed or othor instrument. instru-ment. And on tho undivided Interest Inter-est In le.tl ostnto It Is recommended that the law be amonded so that tho owner of tho undivided Interebt can pay his tax thereon, thus froolng his undivided Interest of tho lien of tho unpaid part of tho tax. With relation to tho mines, it is asserted that a more effective nsses-ment nsses-ment can bo had by placing it in Iho hands of tho county assessors pio-vlded pio-vlded they aro undor tho supervision of tho hoard of equalization. Public service corporations, steam nnd electric roadB, telephone and telegraph tele-graph campanlos doing business lu tho sovcral counties ot tho statu according ac-cording to tho present constitution nro securo In tha present form ot taxation, but tho commltteo proposes an amendment as to tho actual cash valuo, amount of dividends nnd net and gross earnings. Heavy Penalty Uroed Under the head of procedure It Is recommended to provldo a substantial substan-tial ponnlty for the non-payment of (axes and to make tho purchase nt tax sales a safe and attractive Investment. In-vestment. In their report, members of tho commltteo Indorse nil the proposed constitutional amendments now be-foro be-foro tho voters ot the stats. The last Utah legislature authorized author-ized tho committee on revenue nnd taxation with power to make a caro-tul caro-tul and complete compilation ot all the laws bearing upon the subject of taxation In tho state to investigate the present system nnn to consider smtlar laws in other states of the Union. Members of tho comialtteo named last February mado a study of tho matter and hold meetings w'th officials, getting suggestions and ox-changing ox-changing laws, tho final meeting being be-ing held with tho board of equalization equaliza-tion this week. Part of tho Introduction of tho r? port follows: "Neither did we understand that It was our duty to recommend changes chang-es In tho tnx system of tho stato that would either Incrcaso or decrease tho amount of taxes ln tho 'aggregate to Continued on Pago 2. j, 1 p PAGE TWO - 1;1 M SPECIAL BOARD URGES RADICAL I I CHANGES IN SYSTEM OF TAXATION Hw Continued from Pago Ono H t bo lovicd nnd collected within tho HH fl Btnto. Dut wo did uhderstand Jt to PH H bo our duty to mnko careful Invest!- Hj ' 1 gatlon of tho tax system of this and Hj ''; K 1 otber states with a view of securing fK ' . I a more equitable distribution of the Hj ; I burdens of taxation." pj i I Present Syttem Farclal JB1 ' y Under present laws nnd methods In ffl V Utah, tho report says, equalization by H ' tbo stnto board of equalization can H be nothing but a farce. On this sub- B ject It continues: H "A great many of tho states now H have- permanent tax commissions. In H somo states they supplant tho oU Hl ,, board of equalization, In others (hoy Pffl nro In nddltlon thereto, nnd hnvo cer- PJfl tain defined duties. In this stnto wo PH I havo thought it advlsablo to retain M ' 1 tho stnto board of equalization with- J1 out nny chnngo of Its name, or tho I number of Its members or In tho man- ' j ncr of their section, but to rccom- mend greatly cnlnrged duties and re- sponslbllltlcs, giving it tho duties us- ually dolegatcd to n tax' commission, placing tho general supervision of county assessors in their hands, jiro- vldlng for a system of appeals to , that board In all matters affecting , the Individual taxpayer and so In- fH 1 1 creasing tho compensation of tho JH members that competent men can af- 1' ford to glvo their cntlro time to tho wgrk of tho board." hhw "In tho public estimation tho ofllco of assessor has ranked too low. In PU j nominating conventions It usually Is I tho last place, nnd the nomlneo Is lllcely to bo chosen because of his political exigency rather than for his fitness for tho ofllco. The best man . In the county Is none too good for assessor. Wo suggest that the term of ofllco bo four years rather thnn for two yenrs as now provided by law," . Tho reason for recommending the assessment nt full value Is set down as follows: PJH "First, that It leads to a more equal nnd cqultablo assessment. It Is com- paratlvcly easy to nscertnln the ac- fH . tual cash value of a given property, ' but when assessors are allowed to Pffl assess property nt such varying per- , centages of actual vnlue as their Pffl I Judgment or interest prescribes thn wonder Is, not that taxes bear un- J , equally upon our citizens, but fiat t thov aro not still more unequal. H;M "Second, n high valuation means a flUb low levy to produce the same amount jj! of taxes. A low rate of taxation Is HjB deslrablo from any point of vlow." l Members of tho board visited ov- Rh cry county tho state with a view K of determining tho precentago of ac- M tunl value nt which property is as- B sessed. It wns found that In twen- i ty-scven counties section property fH n was assessed from 18 to 37 per cent, Hfl tho lowest being In Grand and tbo fH W highest in Iron county. Salt Lako was H 20 per cent. Tho assessments on ll town and city lots in these counties R rnnged from 21 to D5 per cent, tho fH II lowest being In Cache and tho high- fH 11 est in Wayno county. Salt Lake was U 37 per cent. Tho board found, tho iB report states, that assessment on fH f horses and other livestock was mndo J i upon tho same basis as real estate. Vf "Undoubtedly," tho report says, Jjf "tho chief reason for low assessments J by county assessors Is that tho stato H derives Its revenuo by means of (It- rect tnxatlon, and tho assessors In fl a desire to prevent tbolr counties fH , from contributing unduly to tho cott- i ers of tho stato havo each attempted fl f to assess tbo property of his county M I at a percentage as low, or a little 'f lower, thnn that of the other coun-BvJ coun-BvJ i? ,1 "As a remedy for this condition wo u submit the suggestions that the totnl , 1 tax levy for all purposes (excluding I only special assessment) should bo li limited to 1G mills." " Tho report points out thnt this re- HV serves to tho taxpayers of each tax- m ing district tho right to voto add!- ' tionnl levies whenever necessary. 4 A tabic In tho report shows that PfB tho board of equalization In assess- fH I Ing rnllroads 33 1-3 per cent of their PPH ' . physical value, or tho cost of repro- Eti ' I auction, reverses the general order fH I c of things in tho stnto the tax rate PfH 1 jj being higher than other states Pffl 1 1 through which tho railroads rue. The PfH n ; Oregon Short Lino tnx per mllo In BHll,l ' Utah Is $G56, as against $343 In Wy- HHf; omlng, $435 In Montana and 1418 In I i Oregon. Idaho taxes tbo Short Lino H ' 1 Of tho present inheritance tax tbo B I i board says: BBvJ j "Wo bellovo that in estates of mod- BHh I erato amount where tho property BHb '( goes to Immediate rolatlves, the rato fBv j Is too high. Our present law is un- HBV classified and nonprogressive, but JBvJ provides for a straight 5 cent tax on HBVJ - all amounts over 10,000, whether tho HJ 1 beneficiary Is the widow of tho do- EBVj j I uased or a nonresident alien of no PBWv k M blood relation. In our judgment thoro BHll 1 'jflvBHHk D nr 4uetton but that tho tax should Hi ' be clnssllled, according to the degrees de-grees of relationship of tho heir of tho deceased, nnd progressive according accord-ing to tho nmount received by him from tho estate. Tho members of the board arc unanimously of tho opinion that nn Income tax, efficiently and thoroughly thorough-ly administered, is the best and most equitable system tit taxation that can bo devised, but suggests that Introduction Intro-duction hero bo deforrcd until experiments exper-iments by other states havo progressed. progress-ed. Concerning tho poll tux tho report says: "There Is no tax thnt bears as unequally un-equally upon tho people ns the poll tnx. In fnct it mny almost bo said that It bears on no two people alike. In tho perfect system each citizen contributes to tho support of tho government gov-ernment In proportion to his ability to pay. Tho poll tnx levies a fixed sum on each malo citizen without consideration whether ho Is n million-nlro million-nlro or a dny laborer. It Is hard to collect, and experience has shown thnt thoso best nblo to pay tho tax hnvo evaded or refused to pay It, whilo thoso least oblo to pay hnvo not escaped. We rccommeend tho abolition of this tax." |