CONVENTION HALL March 30th, 1895

To President Constitutional Convention:-

Your Committee on Revenue, Taxation, and Public Debt to whom was referred

File No. 19, by Theresen of Cache.

File No. 26, by Evans of Weber.

File No. __ , by Evans of Weber.

File No. 54, by Stover of Tooele.

File No. 55, by Varian of Salt Lake.

File No. 59 by Warrum of Cache.

File No. 85 by Coray of Juab.

File No. 104 by Clark of Tooele.

File No. 105 by Simon of Salt Lake City.

File No. 107 by Cushing of Salt Lake City.

File No. 112 by Miller of Sevier.

File No. 133 by Robinson of Wayne.

File No. 125 by Hammond.

File No. 145 by Howard of Emery

File No. 152 by Jolly of Sanpete.

respectfully report that they have carefully considered all of said propositions and return same herewith together with the draft of two articles upon the subject referred to us and recommend their adaption as substitutions for said propositions.

The articles are submitted separately for the reason that Revenue and Taxation is usually treated in one article and Public Debt in another in the constitution in most of the states.

Cannon,

Chairman.

Article No. 14 (Revenue and Taxation)

Section 1. The fiscal year shall begin on the first day of January unless changed by the Legislature.

Section 2. All property in the State, not exempt under the laws of United States or under this Constitution, shall be taxed in proportion to its value, to be ascertained as provided by law. The word property as used in this article is hereby declared to include moneys, credits, bonds, stocks, franchises and all matters and things (real, personal and mixed) capable of private ownership, but this shall not be construed so as to authorize the taxation of the stocks of any company or corporation when the property of such company or corporation represented by such stocks has been taxed. The Legislature shall provide by law for an annual tax sufficient, with other sources of revenue to defray the estimated ordinary expenses of the state for each fiscal year. And for the purpose of paying the State debt, if there be any, the Legislature shall provide for levying a tax annually, sufficient to pay the annual interest and principal of such debt within twenty years from the final passage of the law creating the debt.

Section 3. The Legislature shall provide by law a uniform and equal rate of assessment and taxation on all property in the State, according to its value in money, and shall prescribe such regulations by general law as shall secure a just valuation for taxation of all property, so that every person and corporation shall pay a tax in proportion to the value of his, her or its property: Provided, that a deduction of debts from credits may be authorized: Provided further, that the property of the United States, the State, Counties, Cities, Towns, School Districts, Municipal Corporations and Public Libraries, lots with the buildings thereon used exclusively for either religions worship or charitable purposes, and places of burial, not used or held for private or corporate benefit, shall be exempt from taxation; ditches, canals, and flumes owned and used by individuals or corporations for irrigating lands owned by such individuals or corporations, or the individual members thereof, shall not be separately taxed so long as they shall be owned and used exclusively for such purpose.

Section 4. All mines and mining claims, both placer and rock in place, containing or bearing gold, silver, copper, lead, coal, or other valuable mineral deposits, after purchase thereof, from the United States, shall be taxed at the price paid the United States therefor, unless the surface ground, or some part thereof, of such mine or claim, is used for other than mining purposes, and has a separate and independent value for such other purposes, in which case said surface ground, or any part thereof, so used for other than mining purposes, shall be taxed at its value for such other purposes, as provided by law; and all the machinery used in mining, and all property and surface improvements upon or appurtenant to mines and mining claims which have a value separate and independent of such mines or mining claims, and the net annual proceeds of all mines and mining claims shall be taxed as provided by law.

Section 5. A tax upon mortgages secured on either real or personal property shall never be levied unless a reduction equal to the amount of such mortgage shall be made in the assessed value of the property covered thereby.

Section 6. The Legislature shall not impose taxes for the purpose of any County, City, Town or other Municipal Corporation, but may, by law, vest in the corporate authorities thereof respectively the power to assess and collect taxes for all purposes of such corporation.

Section 7. An accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of the public moneys shall be published annually in such manner as the Legislature may provide.

Section 8. The rate of taxation on property, for State purposes, shall never exceed eight mills on each dollar of valuation; and whenever the taxable property within the State shall amount to two hundred million dollars, the rate shall not exceed five mills on each dollar of valuation; and whenever the taxable property within the State shall amount to three hundred million dollars, the rate shall never thereafter exceed four mills on each dollar of valuation, unless a proposition to increase such rate, specifying the rate proposed, and the time during which the same shall be levied, be first submitted to a vote of such of the qualified electors of the State as in the year next preceding such election, shall have paid a property tax assessed to them within the State, and a majority of those voting thereon shall vote in favor thereof, in such manner as may be provided by law.

Section 9. The making of profit out of public moneys, or using the same for any purpose not authorized by law, by any public officer, shall be deemed a felony and shall be punished as provided by law, but part of such punishment shall be disqualification to hold public office.

Section 10. No appropriation shall be made, nor any expenditure authorized by the Legislature, whereby the expenditure of the State, during any fiscal year, shall exceed the total tax then provided for by law and applicable for such appropriation or expenditure, unless the Legislature making such an appropriation shall provide for levying a sufficient tax, not exceeding the rates allowed in section eight of this article, to pay such appropriation or expenditure within such fiscal year. This provision shall not apply to appropriations or expenditures to suppress insurrections, defend the State, or assist in defending the United States in time of war.

Section 11. All corporations in this State, or doing business therein, shall be subjected to taxation for State, County, School, Municipal or other purposes on the real and personal property owned or used by them within the Territorial limits of the authority levying the tax.

Section 12. There shall be a state board of equalization, consisting of the Governor, State Auditor, State Treasurer, Secretary of State and Attorney General; also, in each county of this State, a County Board of Equalization, consisting of the Board of County Commissioners of said County. The duty of the State Board of Equalization shall be to adjust and equalize the valuation of real and personal property among the several counties of the State. The duty of the County Board of Equalization shall be to adjust and equalize the valuation of the real and personal property within their respective counties. Each Board shall also perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law.

Section 13. Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to prevent the Legislature from providing a stamp tax, or for taxation based on income, licenses, franchises, or mortgages.

Article No. 15 (Public Debt)

Section 1. The State may, to meet casual deficits or failures in revenue, or for expenses not provided for, contract debts, but such debts, direct or contingent, in the aggregate, shall not at any time exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) and the moneys arising from the loans creating such debts shall be applied to the purposes for which they were obtained or to repay the debts so contracted and to no other purpose whatever.

Section 2. In addition to the above limited power to contract debts, the State may contract debts to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, or to defend the State in war, but the money arising from the contracting of such debts shall be applied to the purpose for which it was raised, and to no other purpose whatever.

Section 3. Except the debts specified in sections one and two of this article, no debts shall hereafter be contracted by, or on behalf of this State, unless such debt shall be authorized by law for some single work or object to be distinctly specified therein, which law shall provide ways and means, exclusive of loans for the payment of interest on such debt as it falls due, and also pay and discharge the principal of such debt within twenty years from the time of the contracting thereof. No such law shall take effect until it shall, at a general election, have been submitted to the people and have received a majority of all the votes cast for and against it at such election, and all moneys raised by authority of such law shall be applied only to the specific object therein stated, or to the payment of the debt thereby created and such law shall be published in at least one newspaper in each county, if one be published therein, throughout the state, for three months next preceding the election at which it is submitted to the people.

Section 4. No debt in excess of the taxes for the current year shall, in any manner, be created by any county or subdivision thereof or any school district therein, or any city, town or village, or any subdivision thereof in the State of Utah unless the proposition to create such debt shall have been submitted to a vote of such qualified electors thereof as shall have paid a property tax therein in the year next preceding such election and a majority of those voting thereon shall vote in favor of incurring such debt.

Section 5. No county, city town, school district, or other municipal corporation even when authorized to create indebtedness as provided in section four of this article, shall for any purpose become indebted to an amount including existing indebtedness in the aggregate exceeding five (5) per centum of the value of the taxable property therein, to be ascertained by the last assessment for state and county purposes previous to the incurring of such indebtedness; except that in incorporated cities the assessment shall be taken from the last assessment for city purposes; provided that in part of the indebtedness allowed in this section shall be incurred for other than strictly county, city, town or school district purposes; provided further, that any city or town when authorized as provided In section four (4) of this article may be allowed to become indebted to a larger amount, but not exceeding five (5) per centum additional for supplying such city or town with water, artificial light, and sewers, when the works for supplying such water, light, and sewers shall be owned and controlled by the municipality.

Section 6. All moneys borrowed by, or on behalf of the state or any legal sub-division thereof, shall be used only for the purpose specified in the law authorizing the loan.

Section 7. The State shall not assume the debt, or any part thereof, of any county, city, town or school district.

Section 8. Nothing contained in this article shall be so construed as to either impair or add to the obligation of any debt heretofore contracted by any county, city, town or school district, in accordance with the laws of Utah Territory, or prevent the contracting of any debt, or to the issuing of bonds therefore, in accordance with the said laws, upon any proposition for that purpose which may have been, according to said laws, submitted to a vote of the qualified electors of any county, city, town or school district before the day on which this Constitution takes effect.

• Report on Revenue and Taxation [Report Nos. 14&15] (introduced on 1895-03-30 00:00:00 - CREATE - e697563) [This document] [view current proposal at this moment]
  • None (introduced on 1895-03-30 00:00:00 - REPORT_PROPOSAL - e697566) [view current proposal at this moment]