Show JUDGE VOTERS AGAINST MINE TAX PLAN proposed amendment to constitution discussed by lawyer and member of constitutional tut ional convention by C S VARIAN attorney at law and member of utah constitutional convention judge C S varian has carefully considered consid eted the proposed amend m eat nt to section 4 article 13 of the constitution of the state ard warns he e voters against its adoption in a comm to the tribune which s herewith given the amendment is as follows 6 section 4 all mines nines or mining claims both placer id nd rock in place shall be assessed at 5 per acre and in addition thereto t a value valtie based on some multiple or of the net annual pro eeds ed tbt ra y KH mi other mines or mining claims aud other valuable fineral deposits including Inc ludine lands containing coal or bhdroc ardors shall e csiss d at their full value alf air machinery used ir tinning wining and all property or surface improvements upon or appurtenant to mines or min g and the value of any surface use made of mining claims or icing property for other than mining purposes shall be assessed at full jat alue the slate state board of equalization on shall assess and tax all property rein erain enumerated provided that the assessment of 5 per acre and the ses of tha the value of any use other than for minin mining purposes shall made as provided by law existing and aud statutory provisions which are to be con dered in this connection connet tion are ard as follows constitution ARTICLE 1 section I 1 inherent and nd ainali n le rights all men have the inherent and inalienable right 1 to qu qa re possess and protect property section 7 no person shall be deprived of life liberty or property without due process of law ARTICLE VI section 20 26 the legislature is prohibited from en ting any private or special laws in the following cases S 4 As asing and collecting taxes ARTICLE XIII section 2 all property in this not exempt ider der the laws of the united states or under this constitution shall be aed in proportion to its value to be ascertained as provided by law he e word 3 as used in this article is hereby declared to include ocie onie credits bonds stocks franchises and nil ill matters and thing eal rhonal and mixed capable of private ownership section 3 the legislature legisla tuie shall provide by lav lay a uniform and equal te to of assessment and taxation on all property in the state and shall by general law such regulations as shall secure a just valuation alu atlon r taxation of all property so thit that every person and corporation shall ay iy 7 a tax in proportion to the value of his her or its property U S constitution article 43 this constitution ind the laws inch ich shall be made in pursuance purs uince thereof shall be the supreme law te cje land and the judges in every st tte shall be bound thereby any jag ing fn n the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary hiding fourteenth AMENDMENT section I 1 no state shall ike ke or enforce an law which shall abridge the privilege or immunities imm unites citizens of the united states nor shall any state deprive any ap on of e liberty or property without due process of law no deny to iny within ita its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law section 4 of article 13 which it is proposed to amend directs the nation of the surface ground when it has ben purchased from the cited states and where it his bis an independent and separate value for tr purposes ies requires its taxation at its value for such other purposes d the taxation of all machinery used in mining and all property prop propel eity ty and fe fuse e improvements upon or appurtenant to mines and mining claims ich hive a value separate and independent of such mines and claims d the net annual proceeds existing statutes utes con forin to these constitutional provisions with the continued on page lingo bt 81 J judge var a n warns voters against continued firmi pe page I 1 added requirements oc of a lav law ena enacted ted by ake the same legislature which pro posed the amendment to the constitution under consideration this 1 h imposes un an additional burden on mines and mining by an occupation or privilege tax generally of one dollar and two per of the total net proceeds meaning of proposal it would seem that the present bw law relative to tho taxation of mut ine inc property was at least fair to the nothing apparently hai has been omitted in institution or statute in safeguarding the state in the matter of taxing mining property all surface eura rights and improvements ind nd all net pro pr oeds beds owned or produced by In individual dividu 1 I or corporation are taxed upon tho the same valuations and at the bitne rate as other property none of the money realized in after the expend t of breaking and bringing the ore to the surface and alence to mill ci ot smelter smelt air has bas been deducted escapes es cappis taxation no allowance Is made for perhaps years of preliminary work and tho large sums of money expended in the searching for ore in the developing of a paying mine it would seem therefore that as tile law la 13 h N exacted from the miner but it is now pro posed to have the people owe tn in the constitution a permanent perman u ont ment of mining property which shall Is I 1 e pable tha assessor is to bo be relieved of 0 the duty of assessing euh suh eu h property and the state board of equalization must assess and tax the miners at a value fixed and declared by the fiat flat of tho the constitution all other property ts in the bbate is to be asses assessed seil and taxed in proportion to it value to bo be ascertained as provided by law rahe state board of equalization must assess and tax the mine or mining claims at a kalua based on some multiple or sub multiple of tho tile net annual proceeds thereof A multiply may be denned as A number produced by bs multiplying inc adother by a whole number and a dub Is a it number which divides another without a remainder remain J er of course there is a for every multiple suppose the proceeds in a gien case are to base the value on a of this amount might re epault alt in an asse assessment upon a dalition valia vali tion not to exceed To multiply the abin of bv the multiple would result in not getting anywhere above the actual cut rut proceeds so the whole number to be employed in raising the amount for taxation to meet the views of the board of equalization would be at least two and may be an indefinite number a result reaching to the stars is obtained the tax for any one year assessed asae asses sed qed against a mine showing net proceeds may be aass assessed sided upon apon or a greater sum any fiat flat under the forms and sanctity of law whether pronounced by a legislature or by the people in the form of a constitutional amendment which p ir tr ports to empower the taxing officer to so strike at property rights is unworthy of a free people cry for despoliation Despol lallon the fact that ib it is endorsed by some socialistic educators or the representatives of a great political party in convention assembled is of no consequence theirs is but a cry for the of the property of others in n order that the burdens of taxation may be shifted to a special class and badness bal ness the manifest injustice of the proposed amendment should appeal a to all fair minded people and particularly to th mormon people who have always been characterized by the uniform recognition of the property rights of all others and th their dr hostility to unfair and opples r taxation eager to protect themselves res teg against spoliation they should bo be swift to an indefensible act of tyranny and oppression against any taxpayer tn in the slat staw this amendment might la be adapted adopted by ims au thao than a majority of those voting at the election if adopted if valid it will not be in accord with other brovia provisions lons of the constitution it will deny to the prescribed class tha the equal protection of the laws lawis it will be on an act not of arbitrary power striking down the property pio perty rights of a class without due process bf law it will be a it special law assessing and collecting collect ine axes it will prevent athe tho taxation of a certain class of property in proportion to its value with oil olt notice or ft a hearing he Arins it will bo be in opposition to section 3 of article 13 providing ft r a uniform and equal rate of as assessment inc ano taxation on all property in tho the state and for tha the just valuation of alt all so thit every person and corporation shall pay a tax in proportion ion to the value of his her tier or its property it will deny tho the right of having the valuations of i the property of a 3 alisa CI of taxpayers adjusted und find equalized by the state board x equalization such suet with other guaranties cutai 1 in fitce for the protection of all al other citizens and taxpayers can but result evenou eventually ily in disastrous consequences to tlc alc tate presents a barrier possibly the giong could be lighted in the state courts in any bovent event it would seem that the fourteenth amendment t 0 tho the constitution 1 ol 01 the united states would present a barfick to such a uto n of prop larty by the state it Is true as pointed out by the to urt of the united spates wates the th slate may if it chou chooses es exempt bertain classes of property from any taxation at all such as chui chut ashes hes libraries and the propel ty of chart charitable table institutions it may impose different spec taxes upon different trades and professions profess ious and may vary the rates of excise upon various products it may tax real estate and personal property iu ila a different maner it may tax visible property only and not tax the securities for payment PY ment of money it may allow deductions for indebtedness or not allow them all such regulations and those of like charac character cha tei so long us as they proceed within reasonable hailas and general usage a 3 within the discretion of the acuto legislature or the people of the stale in framing their constitution buk but char cliar and bostil against particular persons and classes claes such as are of an unusual character clu charac tei 1 JE known to the tile practice of our government might be obnoxious to the c constitutional 0 n prohibition bells gap rd co vs pennsylvania U b S 20 in an earlie rease the court had declared that the fourteenth amendment ameno amen ment ament 1 undoubtedly intended not only that there should be no arbitrary deprie agica of life or liberty or arbitrary spoliation of property but protection protect icia and security should be gimeli to nil all under like in the enjoyment 0 their pors personal onal and civil rights birdier vs connolly U 2731 27 31 il it la Is the settled doctrine of the court tout taut the ass estment of a lax tax is judicial in its nature requiring for the lega legal exertion exert ibn of the power such opportunity to appear and be heard as ci of the case may require ind further that the supreme ourt of the united states is the ultimate arbiter of rights secured by the federal constitution and is cha acl with the duty of determining deter whether the taxpayer tax 1 lias has been leen afforded forded due process of law and that due of law demands notice and opportunity to be heard as to whether the property la is subject to tax alion and if BO so whether hether the valuations valuation imposed are and lawful central of georgia it R co vs wright tr S supreme court quoted 4 k tb tho act fact that the taxing scheme proposed if adopted will b be part of the he state constitution adda adds nothing to ita its potentiality As said by the supreme court but v rhen hen toe tile amat on is whether a tax imposed by N state stafe deprives a party of rights by the federal constitution the decision Is not riot dependent upon the form in which tri 01 taxing scheme Is cast nor upon the characterization of that Bc schem henrJ as adopted by the court we must rell rei 4 the substance rather than the form and the controlling debt Is s to be found in n the operation and effect of the law as applied and enforced by the state st loula louis S W it vs arkansan Arkan sab 23 U S it must levident bev be ident to every open mind wind that toe proposed amend ment ignores the principles plea upon which th institutions of our govern sent ent rest the words due process of 0 hw liw as employed in both federal and stute constitution were originally a part of the fifth amendment ot the constitution of the united states and conveyed the sime meaning as ilaw I law of the land the words of the th cit cie it charter of human right sealed by john and the barons at Runny runnymede mode their meaning ind effect is as said by mr lir justice johnson in delivering the opinion of the court in bank of columbia vs vis okely 4 Wh wheaton iton eiton As to the words of magna charta incorporated into the constitution of maryland after vo umes spoken and written with a view to their ex position the good sense of mankind has at length settled down to this thai tha they were intended to secure the individual from the arbiter arbit nr nir exe exercise ex erciso reiso of the powers of government unrestrained by the established of private rights and distributive justice justie violates free government this amendment viol ites all principles of representative and free government it commits to a board but appointed by the governor Zo vernor the to tax the citizen upon a valuation arbitrarily arbi fixed by it its meders roem oera thus ignoring a fundamental principle that the people arc are not to be taxed but by representatives chosen climen immediately by them selves and the tax is to be assessed at a value based upon a multiple of the actual net not proceeds fixed by the baird w phout notice or a hearing in these particulars it is in conflict with the fourteenth amendment forbidding any state to deprive any person of properly property without due pro process cess of law or to deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal pro protection deetion of the laws suppose the scheme included the assessment of the farmer upon his crop before harvest or upon the product of the sugar factory at fit the plant the valuation in each case to be based upon some multiple of the actual value what answer aou would d the people make how flow does such fanciful fanci lul scheme differ in principle from that of the proposed amendment aman dment it is sib bitted that the voters should not dishonor their state by adopting tha scheme which Is not supported by law or common sense and wil 1 ich fi at the very life tire of one of the great industries of the state |