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Show IptoDujfiif ento, the enactment of laws that would make it easy for the s:eciaJ groups in command when it camf to paying- taxes- Referring to other supposedly revenue-rating as dangerous to this or tiiat group, while lessening burdens in .tiier fields, the tax experts ex-perts point to the chain store licensing li-censing bill. They declare that this would cost one industry alone about $300,000 per year an unbearable burden. Another is the measure passed by the house enabling cities and towns to tax traveling representatives of Utah manufacturers manufac-turers and wholesalers but not those from other states. The senate committee to which the bill was referred re-ferred has deleted this provision under the assumption that Utah business and industry should be kept competitive and not be made to bear burdens outsiders may avoid-All avoid-All of which raises the moot point as to where taxes should be :! Boulder Dam the house and senate I j hoppers had been filled to over-' over-' flowing with 546 documents proposing pro-posing to enact this new law, ' change that existing one, provide 1 for state constitutional changes, ' memoraiize the national congress, or something else requiring action by house or senate condolences, congratulations and the like- The previous record was established estab-lished by the legislature of 1917, when 434 measures were introduced. The first Utah legislature in 1896 lasting 30 days longer than the present one was satisfied wdth 326 measures introduced- The total of introduced measures may reach the 600 mark if legislators legisla-tors take advantage of the opportunity oppor-tunity to offer new measures tru suspension of the rules, thus getting around the 40-day limit set for introduction in-troduction of bills, resolutions and memorials. Danger! Explosives! ThLs, In effe:;t, was a warning sounded by George A- Critchlow, for more than three years state tax commissioner, in analyzing various taxation measures now before the twenty-first Utah Legislature for consideration. Mr- Critchlow, an acknowledged authority on tax matters revealed salesman tax, ana the many pro-rxjsals pro-rxjsals to discount the compromise delinquent and to-be delinquent taxes- The excu.se for many of the tax-levying tax-levying measures is that some groups are not bearing their share of the tax burden and that some other groups are carrying more than their ritrhtful load Demnnst.ra.-i real danger In several projiosed taxation tax-ation laws danger of the most acute sort that If exploded by being enacted Into statutes would react to the. detriment of the state as a whole although they might favor some sijecial group. The numerous factions, blocs or what have you were blamed for the condition in which the legislature now finds itself it-self as regards taxes In particular. Mr. Critchlow, backed by hundreds, hun-dreds, if not thousands, of big and small business men and taxpayers generally, see In 125 taxation measures meas-ures sjxmsored in house and senate 42 aimed to penalize through addi tion of these facts rests largely in the say-so of the sponsors- To prove their case effectively is next to impossible. im-possible. For support in passing the bills they rely upon the support of the groups and individuals who hope to relieve themselves of some part of the tax load they have been carrying. According to Mr. Critchlow, the only way in which recovery may be achieved is to subordinate private interests to the interest of the whole to enact tax legislation of a general gen-eral nature after junking all special taxes and concentrating upon measures meas-ures affecting all classes of prop- levied- The experts people who know about taxes say upon all property the income generally not upon special groups to the end that all will bear a load proportionate pro-portionate to their means- And for those without property or taxable income a just sales tax universally levied. Dangerous curve ahead! Classed by the tax experts as group-hitting legislation are such measures as those proposing a gross sales tax of one per cent on the gross receipts of corporations, including in-cluding sales, rentals, royalties, in- Committee meetings and public hearings, with short afternoon-only sessions, are giving way this week to morning and afternoon sessions for the consideration of already introduced in-troduced measures, tunity to offer new measures thru have taken over all bills, resolutions resolu-tions and memorials in both house and senate. These committees 7 members in the senate and 12 in the house of representatives will fix the calendars each day, thereby deciding de-ciding what measures will come up for consideration from day to day-This day-This means that 19 legislators will lujiuu taxes some particular group, industry or business. These, the tax expert shows, were introduced, not to raise revenue for governmental purposes, but to confer advantages Uxn one group or another either by way of exemptions in favor of the sponsoring group or penalties against competitors- According to the former tax commissioner, com-missioner, this sort of taxation is dangerous to the state's interests at large. Their revenue-raising adjuncts ad-juncts ostensible on the surface, are in reality submerged in advantages erty. He cites as measures general in their application the income tax, the state sales tax and the gasoline tax. Stop! Look! Listen! Speaking of measures listed by the tax experts and many others as inimical to general interests and entitled to special mention in the "Watch Out for the Locomotive" class is the house joint resolution introduced in the lower house by Representative Milton B- Taylor of terest and dividends, and another amending the present sales tax to prevent the person collecting a tax from a buyer- Listed as group-favoring legislation, legisla-tion, although not taxation measures, meas-ures, are the bills changing the state industrial act to the point of making the workmen's compensa- t ionprovisions anunbearable burden bur-den upon industry; the senate bill relating to regulation of trucks and private carriers and the house bill fixing hours of work in mines and smelters , ueuiae tne late to a large degree of whatever legislation is enacted during the two weeks remaining in the present session- Many measures are expected to die in the sifting committees. They will never reach the house or senate for final passage pas-sage or rejection. Sixty-five bills, resolutions and memorials have up to Monday been passed by house and senate- Of this number . 12 have been approved by both legislative branches. The house has nn.icri n oTi oi measures leaving 53 for further consideration by either house. I Four measures have been defeat-j defeat-j ed two in each house. Eleven have been withdrawn in the senate and 7 in the lower house. Fifty bills have been passed in both houses-Eight houses-Eight of these have passed both houses. ; Twenty-five have passed the house and 17 the senate. The two most important measures passing both houses' are the senate joint resolution providing for ratification rati-fication by Utah of the national child labor constitutional amendment amend-ment and the resolution paving the way for a constitutional amendment exempting from taxation homesteads home-steads up to $2,000 in value-Perhaps value-Perhaps the most important of bills passed in the senate are the individual and corporation income tax bills and the traffic safety measure. In the house the most far-reaching far-reaching may be the state stores accruing some favored group and invented solely for the purpose of securing support for the bill. These measures are in fact, he says, introduced intro-duced to relieve some group of a portion of its tax load at the expense ex-pense of some other group, business busi-ness or Industry. There are, for example, points out Mr. Critchlow, five measures pro-xxsing pro-xxsing to levy additional taxes against metal mines. Nine relate to taxation of public utilities. Four seek to make insurance companies pay more taxes. Two have to do with the sales tax; designed to exempt ex-empt certain products affecting certain cer-tain groups and so securing advantage advan-tage over the remainder of the I state. Then there are taxes on oleo-' margarine, natural and artificial gas, exemptions proposed to relieve certain activities from gasoline tax-cs. tax-cs. the chain store tax, traveling . ckyci tunity ana Known as ti J. R. 14- Under the provisions of the resolution reso-lution the author would give future legislatures power to tax, levy, collect col-lect and allocate taxes for the general gen-eral welfare of the state. He would in brief, put into the hands of 83 men and women the means of saying say-ing just who would bear the taxation taxa-tion burdens of Utah. He would make the legislative body supreme in its power to provide ways and means of handling everything pertaining per-taining to taxation and disposal of revenues raised by taxation. Suppose, say opponents of granting grant-ing such far-reaching powers, some business or industry could sway a legislature to its immediate desires along taxation-way. Or presume that labor could wield an irrestible big stick. Or grant that agriculturists agricultur-ists held a balance of power. What would happen in any of these events? Just, say the bill's oppon- J In the same class the tax experts and governmental authorities list many regulatory measures that if enacted into law would give the public utilities and state industrial commissions practically unlimited and unchecked power in the regulation regula-tion of many industries. In the end and to simplify legislation legisla-tion the experts propose that all such measures be junked at least as far as revenue raising is concernedin con-cernedin favor of general taxation taxa-tion legislation. They favor legislation legisla-tion that would affect all classes and groups justly and equitably. A new alltime record for introduction intro-duction oft bills, resolutions and memorials was set by the present legislature before adjournment last week- By the time the legislators almost al-most all of them had departed on a trip to southern Utah and the I J wwi ownrt? suures I B liquor bill and the metropolitan water district measure. |