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ATHENS BANNER, SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 1S, 1921.
MEMBER STATE TAX COMMISSION
RECOMMENDS RADICAL CHANGES
IN THE TAX SYSTEM OF GEORGIA
Branding the general property tax
iis administered In Georgia as unfair,
and recommending radical changes In
the tax system of the state, I)r. J. H.
T. McPherson, professor of political
science at the University of Georgia
uud member of the state tax commis
sion, this morning registered his ob-
Jection to the annual report of Comp
troIler-General Wright.
•'The press has recently given wide
-publicity to a portion of the annual re-
port of Comptroller-General Wright, In
which he opposes the recommenda
tions of the Special Tax Commission
advocating a modern tax system for
Georgia," said Dr. McPherson. "He
urges instead a more rigorous en
forcement of the old law, the general
.property tax. which requires a uni
form rate to be levied on the full
market value of all p/operty.
-•The great esteem in whfch Comp
troller General Wright is deservedly
held will give his opinion weight. It
seems therefore fitting, at a time when
the problem of taxation and revenue
Is so urgent In Georgia, to examine
the reasons which led the Tax Com
mission to propose a constitutional
amendment authorizing the legisla
ture to abandon the general property
tax and substitute n system under
which property should be divided Into
classes. Under the proposed system
oach class would he taxed at a differ
ent rate, nr by a different method, so
as to trttio in taxation only a fair and
reasonable proportion of the Income
produced; or to employ If desired an
income tax; or To make use of both
the classified property tax and the
income tax.
"In the first place, we must ques
tlon the fairness of the general prop
erty tax, General Wright says: ‘The
unlfomlty scheme . of taxation falls
equally upon all the property owners
or this state, and requires all citizenr
of the slate to contribute to the sup
port of the government In proportion
to the amount arid value of the proper
ty of each. What could be fairer to
all classes of people than this methoi
of taxation ?’
"Now it Is precisely because this
tax Is grossly unfair thkt all modern
economic authorities condemn It. But
we do not have to take the opinions
of experts. Let us see for ourselves
Fairness In taxation consists In dls
trlbuting tho burden In proportion to
ability to bear it. And ability Is meas
ured not by property, but by net in
come. Let us imagine five men in
Athens, each owning $1,000 worth of
property. The combined state, coun
ty and city tax of Athens is at pres
ent $32 on every $1,000 of property
Otm of these men has his $1,000 In a
savings bank, and draw-s $40 a year
interest. The law requires him to
pay $32 tax, or 80 per cent of his In
come. Another man has h.Is loaned
on mortagage at 8 per cent. His tax
Is 40 per cent of his Incomo. A third
has his Invested in a small house that
produces $128 a year. His tax is 25
per cent of his Income. A fourth and.
fifth from fortunate business invest
ments receive $320 and $640 a year
respectively. Their tax amounts to 10
and 5 per cent of their income. Here
are five men whom the law treats alike,
because they have equal property, yet
their tax exacts proportions of their
incomes varying from 5 to 80 per cent
"A prosperous prbfessional man
makes $100,000 a year. His tax-paying
ability ts high. The law requires him
to pay no tax at all. Two merchants
in different lines of business have,
each $100,000 of capital investment.
One has d good year and makes $50.
000 profits; the other has a had year
and makes nothing. The law requires
the same tax of each.
"Such instances might be multiplied
but enough has been said to prove th.r
this law by no means falls equally
upon all property owners," even If If
were efiforced to the letter. It Is
fundamentally unfair and unjust ever
in theory.
"In practice it- becomes worse. Ar
the tax rate rises in response to social
demands for Increased revenue, thr
owners of those forms of proper!.'
that produce the lower rates of inter
est,—bonds, money .notes, loans and
mortgages, begin to realize that they
are being mulcted of 50 to 80 per cent
as been tried over and over again,
and no state as ever been able to get
all property assessed at full value
under a uniform rate. It has never
worked, though, as Dr. Ely says, ‘It
has been tried thousands of times, and
although all the mental resources of
I able metubave been employed to make
i it work.
! "The most conspicuous example of
an effort of this sort Ip^found in the
state of Ohio. For many year 8 the
state authorities engBged in a relent
less campaign to -enforce the law.’
Penalties, fines. Imprisonments were
ilpposed upon the hapless taxpayers
A -small army of secret spies, “tax
ferret’ they were called—stimulate!'
by heavy commissions was employed
to unearth concealed property. But
ull in vain. Millions were indeed dls
covered and put on the tdx books,—
temporarily. But the next year they
would be gone—Into secure hiding oi
out of the state. It Is said that In one
year New York received an Influx bf
Ohioans equal to the entire popula
tlon of Cleveland,
"The net result of this exhaustive
effort Is summed up In the report of
a recent Ohio tax commission. -After
more than fifty years of experience,
with all conceivable methods in the
way of Inquisition laws, severe penal
ties, and criminal statutes designed to
force the owners of moneys and cred
Its, stocks and bonds, to put their
holdings upon the tax duplicate, not
only is the percentage of such prop-
paniion of state functions and the de
mand for Increased public revenue,
the, general property tax has become
wholly Inadequate. Scarcely a
commissioner or writer of repute on
tax matters within the last quarter
century has discussed the general
property tax without condemning it
under present conditions as wrong in
theory and pernicious ip practice.’
-‘The Wisconsin state tax commissn-
er says;
"‘"It has broken down and been an
absolute failure.’
"'A Louisiana"’tax commission re
ports;
of "their income, while other classes of erty less than ever beforeu but public
Investment are paying less. A natural i sentiment seems to he more and more
instinct of self-preservation lead?
them to conceal port of their holdings
This intangible property is found to to ueorgia. rny cx.sl ....
be easy to conceal and gradually j General -Property Tax is in force
more and more of it goes Into hiding The Mississippi tax commission
Finally practically the whole of it c!!s-| ,!, 18 reports,
appears. The bulge of the weight of 1
approving evnsion of the law.”
“These conditions are not peculiar
to Georgia. They exist wherever thr
taxation comes to fall with crushing
force upon real estate and visible prop
erty. The result Is deplorable.
“The Special Tax Commission
found that at a conservative estl
mate thj-ee quarters of the property
of Georgia escaped taxation altogether
The realty arid visible property thal
bears the brunt of taxation is return
ed at a third of Its value. Itepresen
tatlves of six leading firms of Atlanta
in conference with the Tax Commis
sion, admitted that the city of At
lanta alone contains more merchnn
dise than is returned for the entire
state. The whole burden of taxation
resting on the narrow basis of a small
fraction of the property and populace,
bears upon those who pay with Intol-
ahle weight and Inequity. Yet the
revenue of the state is insufficient tn
meet Its obligations: ✓
"General Wright believes that these
unfortunate conditions could be rem
edied by a drastic enforcement of the
law. And on the surface It docs not
appear why the government by bol
stering up the tag machinery and
employing a rigorous system of fines
and forofituros. Imprisonment nnd es
plonage, might not coerce ar.d Inthnt
date the tax payers into returning all
their property at Its full value ns the
law requires. The excessive '.rates
might then be lowered, and the es-
We have had occasion to exam
ine the reports of many special com
missions appointed by varltAis state
legislatures during the past few years
for the purpoe of investigating the
question of taxation and revenue, and
without exception such commissions
have reported that the general prop
erty tax is a failure. Hundreds of
commissions after exhaustive inves
tlgatlon have reported that the princi
ple that all property, irrespective of
kind of class, should be taxed equally
and uniformly, Is unjust, unsound. In
ndequate and inefficient. The expe
rience of Mississippi Is not peculiar.
All other states where this tax pre
vails, report that Its operation is un-
successfnl.
" -All the countries of Europe, with
the exception of a few Cantons oi
Switzerland, abandoned It years ago
Already many states of thd Union
have repudiated and abolished it.
lias sinned away its day of grace, If
It ever had one, • • • No self-respect
ing people ought to permit the pres
ent Inequality and Inequity to exist
after they have, fully understood the
matter. The fault Is not so much in
the admtn8tration of tho law as-lt
is Inherent In the law Itself.’
the Nebraska commission oL 1914,
reports:
•■'With-the economic development
bf the countjy, the rise of corpora-
sentiar injustice of the uniform tax lions with their issue, of vast founts
would be leas oppressive.
of securities, the growth of the credit
The experience of other states.: system the multiplication of way.
however, affords convincing testimony of securing an Incomewlthlittle or
of the futility of such an attempt. It, no use of property, nnd with the ex-
iTIhwir
"All opinions and reports tell, with
variation only of detail and verbiage,
the same story—the Impossibility of
fairly reaching personal property, am',
especially intangible personality; the
gross inequality; the discrimination in
favor of the cunning and against the
honest, especially agninst the weak
and helpless, the fraud and trickery,
and even perjury, resorted to In evn
sion of the law; the hindrance to In-’
dustrlal development; in short, tliel
utter breakdown of the general prop j
erty tax system everywhere. This Is
not the experience of Louisiana alone;
it Is the universal experience of the
civilized world.’
. "A Massachusetts tax commission
reports:
" ’Since 1798 no further attempt has
been made in England to levy u gen
eral property tax. In most of the
other countries of Europe the result
has been the same—now almost ob-
solete.
“ 'Modern tax systems are based
upon the principle‘that It is necessary
to discriminate between the various
classes of property and business, and
employ different methods and rates
of taxation In dealing with them/
“For the expert opinion of noted
authorities on taxation I might quote
Dr. Richard T. Ely, of Wisconsin:
“ 'The one uniform tax on all prop
erty In direct taxation never has
worked well in any modern commute
Ity or state In the civilized world
though it has been tried thousands of
times, and although all the mental re
sources of able inen -have been era
ployed to make it work well.’
“The evidence against the general
property tax Is overwhelming. This
method of taxation must be abandon
ed. Sooner or later the people
Georgia are bound to awake to Its
Iniquities and abolish It. There re
mains only the plan proposed by the
commission,—the classified property
tax, or the Income tax, or better still
a wise combination of both."
For
Sale
CHILDREN’S WHITE DRESSES
Periodic Bilious Attacks.
Persons subject to bilious attacks
at regular Intervals know about when
to expect an attack. They find that
they have no desire for food when
an attack Is due but usually eat be
cause It Is meal time. Skip one meal
and take three of Chamberlain’s Tab
lets and you may be able to avoid
the attack. Persons subject to pe
riodic bilious attacks should not drink
tea or coffee at any time.—Adv.
Mr. Walter H. Bishop leaves today
for Chicago on a business trip, where
he will be gone tor several days.
Mr. and Mrs. G. L. Oldham announce
the birth of a daughter on Saturday.
May 14th. < l-tHttlC
Read Barther advertisements .and
patronize Banner advertisers.
Both girls and boys welcome such gifts
at graduation, for thei? very school life has
inculcated a desire to continue with their
books.
Memory books and College records. We
shall be pleased to help you ir. your selec
tion. Also'a nice line of fine stationery and
cards, Eversharp pencils, fountain pens, etc.
The McGregor Company
Send in Your Names.
The committee of Odd Fellows on
entertainment of the Grand Lodge of
Odd Fellows, which meets In this city
next month,, request all hotels, board-
Ing houses and citliens to phone, or
mall to Harold T. Tuck, phone 140S-W
the number of delegates they can ac
commodate, rates for board and room
and room* without board. It Is de
sired that this Information be lu
bands of the committee as early as
possible. Parties desiring to take
delegates will please let It be known
at once. THE COMMITTEE.
LODGE DIRECTORY.
Mt. Vernon Lodge, No. 22, F. J A.
M„ meets In regular communication
second Thursday night In each month
at K. of P. Hell, Washington street.
H. O. STORY, W. M.
JNO. QUINN, Sec.
Oliver Encampment, No. 14,1. O. O.
F...meets every Friday night at 8 p.
m. In Odd Fellows’ Hall, corner CoL
lege and Clayton streets. Visiting
Patriarchs always welcome.
, R. L. BRAMBLF.T, C. P.
HAROLD T. TUCK, Scribe.
St Elmo Lodge, K. ot P.—SL Elmo
Lodge, No. 40. Knights ot Pythias,
inbets every Monday night at 8
o’clock at Its CVastl* Hall In the Jes
ter building, Clayton street Phone
125-L. Visiting Knights cordially In
vited to attend.
S. D: WILKINS. C. C.
T. H. . NICKERSON, K. of K. * &
Williams Lodge. No. 16. 1. O. O. F-
meets every Monday night In Odd Fel
lows’ HsU, Lipscomb building, corner
College and Clayton streets. All
brethren'are Invited to attend.
A. L. HOWLAND, N. O.
H. D. STEPHENS, R. 8.
Classic City Camp, No. 292, W. O.
W.. meets every Wednesday night at
8:30 o’clock, Llpeeomb building, cor-
ner College and Clayton streets. All
visiting Sovereigns ere welcome to at-
J. P. McCALL, C. &
C. J. WILLIAMSON, Clerk.-
Clarko Rebekah Lodge, No. 21, I. O.
O.’P, meets every Tuesday night
Lipscomb building, corner College nnd
Clayton streets. In Odd Fellows’ Halt
All Ribekahi are cordially Invited.
MRS. H. C. BISHOP, N. O.
MBS. H. M. ELLIOTT, Sec. .
10.dozen Children’s White Or
gandy Dresses Trimmed in val, and
embroidery with No. 60 satin rib- *
bon sashes; these were bought to
sell for $3.50 and $5.00 and are all
this setson’V new dresses. Sizes
are 2 to 14 years. All go at one
price for a record sale,
$1.50
/
Sport Hats
Monday only. % 6 dozen Felt
Straw Combination, Sport $
Hats values $3.00. Monday
and
.00
Catarrhal Deafness Cannot Be Cured
reach the „ — —
Catarrhal Deafness requires constitu
tional treatment. HALL’S CATARRH
MEDICINE Is a constitutional remedy.
Catarrhal Deafness Is caused by an in
flamed condition of the mucous lining of
the Eustachian Tube. When this tube is
Inflamed you have a rumbling sound
imperfect hearing, and when It la entire*
ly closed. Deafness Is the result. Unless
the inflammation con be reduced, your
hearing may be destroyed forever.
HALL’S CATARRH MEDICINE acts
through the blood on the mucous sur
faces of the system^ thus reducing the in
flammation and restoring normal condi
tions.
Circulars free. All Druggist
iledo.
P. J. Cheney & Co.,
Ohio.
A prisoner in St. 'Paul, Minn., paid
in full five victims Ot/ his forgery.
Earnings but 25 cents daily in the
prison twine plant he managed 'to
save the $43 which he. paid to ease his
-conscience.
“BABE” HITS ELEVENTH v
HOMER WITH TWO ON.
(By Associated Press)
Cleveland, O., May 14.—“Babe”
Ruth made his eleventh homer this
.season in the eighth inning today
with two on base.'
Read Banner advertisement* .and
patronize Banner advertisers.
The
Athens
Bank
has been designated as the depository of the
Emergency Fund
-•
of the
School
Have you handed in your Dollar yet? The need is urgent;
the cause is one of the most laudable that you have ever
had the opportunity of furthering.
Let’s sustain this institution; it has long been a source
of great pride to our City, and its value to Athens and the
State at large is beyond question.
DIRECTORS
M. Stem, M. G. Michael, G. A. Mell, W. F. Bradshaw, Sidney,
Boley, Aaron Cohen, J. A. Hunnicutt, J. A. Hunnicutt, Jr., L» F.
Edwards, T. S. Mell, Deupree Hunnicutt, Frank A. Lipscomb.
Read the BannerWant ads now
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