that article. The matter is left entirely to the Legislature. We should not try to legislate here. The Constitution should be the embodiment of sound principles and not of phases of legislation. With respect to that, we have in the Constitution of the State of Michigan this language: "The Legislature may provide for assessments by the State Board of Assessors, railroads, telegraph, telephone, express and car companies". That was simply to designate the classes. We leave it entirely to the Legislature of this State to say what corporations of the public service class shall be assessed by a state board. Mr. President, I know the great fight the people of this State had with respect to the special franchise tax. If this provision had been in the Constitution we never would have had the question of the constitutionality of the special franchise tax. I do not want to see questions of that sort raised in the future. Let us clear the situation, so far as the Constitution is concerned, so that no such question can arise in the future. I hold in my hand excerpts from the report of the United States Commissioner of Corporations to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. He points out the advisability of centralizing the assessment of this class of property. He points out that there is nothing new in it. New Hampshire, one of the oldest New England States, provides that the State shall administer taxation of steam and street railroads, express, car, telephone and telegraph companies. The State of Ohio, under the restrictions of the Langdon Law passed five years ago, providing for a State tax commission, has authority to assess corporate property of public utility corporations and to determine the amount of receipts and capital stock upon which taxes are collected. The State of New York is notoriously behind all other States of this country in the matter of taxation. I showed to you gentlemen the other day from the census reports of the United States government that New York is eighth on the assessment of personal property. In proportion, it assesses less property than Ohio, Massachusetts, Indiana, Texas, Kansas, Missouri or Illinois. Within ten years the maximum of the burden on real estate will be reached in the State of New York. The tax upon real estate is near that limit now. We cannot go any farther with the burden upon real estate unless you want to bring ruin to every community, the ruin that now faces some of the local communities in the Northwest where they have depended entirely upon their real estate tax. We have got to look to our personal property for our revenue in the future. What is the trouble with the present situation? It is a very simple thing. Under the present Constitution the Court of Appeals has held in the Metropolitan case, and only last June in the Pelham case, that the local assessor has the constitutional right to assess property. If you want a substitute for the personal property tax, and we all know it is a failure, and we have got to have a substitute, we have got to find it within the next twenty years, and even within the next ten years in my opinion, you cannot find it under the present Constitution, because if you provide a substitute which will take away from the local assessor his constitutional right to assess personal property you are up against the decision of the Court of Appeals in the Metropolitan case and the Pelham case. Mr. President, I ask for unanimous consent to continue for three minutes. I have got to carry the burden of this argument. The President - Is there any objection to granting the extension of three minutes? The Chair hears no objection. Mr. Saxe may continue. Mr. M. Saxe - Mr. President, as I have pointed out, under your present Constitution you can provide no substitute for the personal property tax, and that is all that we are doing by this proposal. It is not true that we are providing here for State assessors to go into the rural district. If you want it to do that, Mr. Sharpe, the Legislature could do it to-day under the Constitution by exempting the farmer's cow from local taxation, which would not hurt anybody in the city of New York, and by putting a State tax on it; just exempt it from local taxation and put a State tax on it, and that is all there is to it. You have laid the foundation for that in the principle of the mortgage tax law and the secured debt tax law. The Legislature can go on and extend the tangible personal property theory and so take away the sources of local revenue; and mark you, gentlemen, I tell you this seriously in the year of 1915, that before the year 1925, the burden on real estate in this State will be so great that they will have to resort to extreme measures to levy a tax on personal property, and if that is provided for the Legislature, as this proposal provides, it will do just as I am telling you now, it will exempt your personal tangible property from local taxation, and if there are violations of the law, it will send the State assessor into the locality to see that the tax is collected, and it will be constitutional. Now, here is an opportunity to get away from it. Here is an opportunity to give power to the Legislature to provide a substitute, which, when it is worked out, will be constitutional, and will not make it necessary to resort to that vicious principle of exempting property from local taxation in order to reach it. Mr. President, this is in the interest of the whole State of New York and it is in the particular interest of the rural districts of the State. My department is in contact with three thousand assessors. We have not heard a word of protest. My two colleagues, the other commissioners of taxation, are gentlemen from up State. They have been through thirty-two counties of this State. They are in constant contact with the assessors. They have heard no opposition. The Commission is unanimous for it. The Committee after two months' hard work reported it. The Committee of the Whole after a full discussion adopted it, and I say, Mr. President, that the people of the State of New York, if this Constitution is presented to them, after they have had a full discussion and they have heard all sides of this question, this will help the Constitution to get a tremendous vote. So confident am I of that, that if there is any doubt in the minds of the members of this Convention I will gladly support a proposition to submit the taxation article as a separate proposition to the people. The President - The question occurs upon the amendment offered by Mr. Olcott which the Secretary will read. The Secretary - On page 2, line 23, strike out the period at the end of the line and add "operating in two or more counties, none of which is in the city, but nothing herein contained shall interfere with the assessment of special franchise taxes by state authorities." The President - Mr. Olcott moves to recommit with instructions to amend as read by the Secretary and report forthwith. All in favor of the motion will say Aye, opposed No. The motion is lost. The question is upon the motion of Mr. Whipple. The Secretary will read. The Secretary - Amend Section 2 by striking out on page 2 all of line 4 following the period and all of lines 5, 6 and 7 and the syllables "with standing" and the period in line 8 and by striking out in line 8 the word supervision", and to amend Section 3 by inserting after the word "real" " in the first line the words " and personal ". The President - The motion is Mr. Sharpe Mr. President, I ask for a division. The President - The motion is to recommit with instructions to amend as indicated by the Secretary and report forthwith. All in favor of the motion will rise and remain standing until counted. All opposed will rise. The motion is lost. The question is on the adoption of the amendment. The Secretary will call the roll. The Secretary - Mr. Adams. Mr. Adams Aye. The Secretary- Mr. Ahearn. Mr. Ahearn-Aye. The Secretary - Mr. Aiken. Mr. Aiken Aye. The Secretary - Mr. F. C. Allen. Mr. F. C. Allen Aye. The Secretary - Mr. V. M. Allen. (No response.) The Secretary - Mr. Angell. Mr. Angell - Aye. The Secretary - Mr. Austin. Mr. Austin - Mr. President, I desire to make just this brief explanation of my vote. I want to say that if the farmers of this State ever find out that under this provision it will be possible for the State to provide an officer who will be able to go out on his farm and say how many cows have you got; how many sheep have you got, and how many tons of hay are in your barn, and to levy an assessment on that - in other words, a State listing scheme for his personal property - if he ever finds it out, make no mistake, something will happen. I cannot consistently vote for this measure, and I wish to be recorded in the negative. The Secretary - Mr. Baldwin. (No response.) The Secretary - Mr. Bannister. Mr. Bannister Aye. The Secretary - Mr. Barnes. (No response.) The Secretary - Mr. Barrett. Mr. Barrett Aye. The Secretary - Mr. Baumes. |