State

December 2, 1933 THE STATE Page Nine FAGTS ABOUT OUR STATE GOVERNMENT No. 4 — State Revenue Department (This is the fourth of a series of articles being published in The State thro mih which endeavors will be made to describe for North Carolinians the activities of the departments of stab (jovernmrnt which administer their af¬ fairs. The fifth article of the series will appear in an early issue.) ★ By W. J. SADLER I* lakes money lo run anything suc¬ cessfully. nnd a lor of it is required to keep the Slate of North Carolina's financial head above the waters of in¬ solvency, as readily can he surmised from the almost thirly-four millions of dollars collected for the general high way and speeiul funds during the last fiscal year hv the State Department of Revenue. And it is no small job, as Allen d. Maxwell, Commissioner of Revenue, and conceded to be one of the foremost tax experts of the South and nation, quickly will tell you. Mr. Maxwell and his 300 assistants constantly are on the alert, keeping steady hands on the financial pulse of the citizens of the state, and seeing to it that they pay to the treasury of North Carolina u just portion of their incomes, profits and varied emoluments. Housed in one of the most imposing and pretentious of state buildings, the Revenue Department is a regular bee¬ hive of industry, particularly at this season of the year when notices are be¬ ing mailed to 450.000 Tar Heels own¬ ing automobiles, informing them that new license plates should be purchased for the ensuing year. The Motor Vehicle Bureau, one of tho divisions of the Revenue Depart¬ ment, has been forced to augment its force hv thirty workers during the last two or three weeks, nnd practically the entire personnel has worked until 10 o'clock and later at night during that period on their gigantic task. New plates wore supposed to go on sale this year on December 1, instead of De¬ cember 15. It is estimated by department officials that over $5,500,000 was the amount expended in 1933 by the approximately 410,000 North Carolinians who own automobiles. The cost of the plates ranged from $12.50 for the lowly Model T, now almost extinct, to $200 for some A. J. MAXWELL - ★ - of the huge trucks which travel over the splendid highway system of the state. The average cost is placed at $13.05. On that basis, more than $6,000,000 should be collected from the sale of license plates during 1933. Many other forms of taxation help to swell the coffers of the state. Among them arc the beer nnd wine taxes; the highly controversial general sales tax; inheritance taxes; income taxes; vari¬ ous forms of license taxes; franchise taxes, and others. The sales tax. officially entitled “An Emergency Revenue Measure.” was adopted by the 1933 General Assembly after a long struggle engaged in by mem¬ ber* of that body. It was estimated that this form of taxation would bring to the state $8,400,000 during each year of the next biennium. Through adoption of the general sales tax property owners of the state wen- relieved ef the 15-eent ad valorem tax and all special school taxes, and every school child within the borders of North Carolina was assured of eight months schooling each year, the entire expense to he borne by the state. The 6-cent gasoline tax is expected to enrich the state exchequer this year to the extent of $15,000,000; business license taxes. $2,000,000; individual income and inheritance taxes. $1,800,- 000; franchise and income taxes on corporations, $13,600,000, and inci¬ dental taxes, $600,000. Two new executives have been added to the array of otfieials who keep the Revenue Department running smoothly. They are Dr. M. (’. S. Noble, dr., named bv Governor .1. B. Khringhaus to be Assistant Director in Charge of Per¬ sonnel, following adjournment of the late legislature, and Harry MeMullun. wlm is chief of the sales tax division. One of the important divisions of the Revenue Department is the Highway Patrol, formerly under the control of the Slate Highway Commission. Mem¬ bers of the Highway Patrol, which i- directed hv Captain Charles D. Farmer, have ns their first duly the protection of life and property. They seek to en¬ force, impartially and honestly, the va¬ rious statutes governing the operation ■ >f motor vehicles in North Carolina, and have made a record of which their fellow citizens can 1h> proud. The department has been adminis¬ tered by three commissioners since it' creation Colonel A. D. Watts, Gov¬ ernor K. A. Dough ton and Mr. Maxwell. Mr. Maxwell, when asked for a state¬ ment regarding his department, said : "The State Department of Revenue was set up in 1921 when the state com¬ pleted its epochal policy of abandoning property taxes, collected in the counties, and set lip its own independent sources of revenue. The success of this new policy has led to an expansion of it far lieyond the original purpose. "The volu . if work handled by the department has been multiplied three and a half times in ten years. The in¬ creased responsibilities imposed on it« this year are greatrd than its total load was ten years ago. Kverv citizen of the state now has a \ital interest in the successful opera¬ tion of this department, because the full load of the public school system, with its corresponding property tax relief, i* dependent upon its collections of revenue. “The department is giving its com¬ plete cooperation to the Governor and the Budget Bureau in enlarging and shaping its organization to meet the greatlv enlarged responsibilities re¬ quired of it in the new program.” ( The fifth of this series of articles on curious departments of the slate i/nrernmeitl , dealing with the office of the Secretary of State, will appear in an early issue of The State.)