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April 14, 1911.
<br />
<br />Joint Session of the two branches of dity Council April !4th there were present--
<br />
<br />~essrs--~. C, ~oore, E. B. Lan~aorne, 0, W~ ~alker, D, W. Ballentine, ~, ~. Adams,~
<br /> ~ Privett, S. T. Hontague, W. E. Calvert, W. Jones
<br /> ~- ~. ~. Paimer,
<br /> · ~urry, L. O. ~zoholson,
<br /> John Howard Hall. Geo. R. Parrish. J, T. ~ ,,
<br /> nanvea. _~. S. Brooks, ~. C. ~orbmtt,
<br /> Ellis W. ~ *
<br /> ~oore, Ym. Hedges Baker, J. Ed. ~ohnson. Jno. ~· Leigh, L, C. Brinson,
<br /> H, C. Re~olds, W, J. Cross, Chas. J. Withy, C. L, m,y~er, ~ ~.~ B. Hawks,
<br /> S. B. Hutohins, Charles Beise!, Thcs. P. Cooke.
<br />
<br />The President of the Board of Aldermen presided.
<br />
<br /> The fo!levYing directions for the Joint Session were read:
<br /> "Portsmouth, Va,, April 12, 1911.
<br /> ~r. L, P. starer,
<br /> City 0!erk.
<br /> "Dear Sir:--
<br /> *You will please call a Joint Session of the-two branches of Oity Council for
<br />Friday, April 14th, 8 o'clock 2. E. to consider--
<br />
<br /> "First. A License Ta~ Bil! for 1911-12.
<br />
<br /> "Second. Immediately following the Joint Session the Board of Aldermen wilt meet in Special
<br />Session to consider inst~mcting the City Attorney to draft a contract between the City and E, ~,
<br />Lindsay for doing ~ork on the South Street Road,
<br />
<br /> "~nirdo And the Common Council will meet to consider concurrence in such parts of the License
<br />Tax Bill as may have been adopted in said Joint Session.
<br />
<br />~H espect ful! y,
<br />
<br />~. O. Oorbitt, President O.
<br />
<br />"C. W. Walker, President B. of A.
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<br />V~hereupon, the Joint Finance Committee offered the said License Tax Ordinance.
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<br /> On motion, it was decided to have read sections of the Ordinance for 1910-1t recommended for
<br />change, or new sections only,
<br />
<br /> The 01erk read to Section ? of the proposed new Ordinance without any objections be_nd made
<br />thereto~ when ~r. Langhorne asked permission to present a minority report of the Committee, embrac-
<br />ing Sections ? & 9, T_e permission was granted, and the following report was read:
<br />
<br /> "Portsmouth, Virginia.
<br /> ~pril llth, 1911.
<br /> "To the Common Council and Board of Aldermen,
<br /> "Port~mouth, Virginia,
<br /> ~Gentlemen:--
<br /> ~e beg herewith to submit a minority report relative to Sections Seven (7) and
<br />Nine (9), page three (3), of the Lioense Tax Bill for 191!. You have before you for adoption, under
<br />the above sections, a recommendation of a majority of the Finance, Committee to increase the license
<br />on shippers of liquor $o $585.00 and $500.00 respectively.
<br />
<br /> 'To adopt the recommendation of the majority memberm We:fe~l it would be u~ufair to the liquor
<br />people and detrimental to the City's tnterests~
<br />
<br />liquor dealer pays now for the privilege of doing business the following tax:
<br />
<br />City Tax $ 265.00
<br />State Tax - 585 00
<br />State Tobacco Ta~ 5 O0
<br />U. S. Gove~-uament Tax .................................... 25.00
<br />State shipping Tax (Interstate and Foreign] ............. 4~0.00
<br />
<br />$1,~3o.oo.
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<br /> ~he above figures show that the dealer who engages in the shipping business pays
<br />and that the ordinary bar license costs S880.00 a year. By comparison with other cities in the
<br />State the tax may appear iow, but the fact that these cities have a higher rate of taxation is ns
<br />reason that it is fair and equitable, and they do not occupy a similar position to Portsmouth. Our
<br />close proximity to Eorfolk, where the transportation facilities a~e far superior to ours, offers
<br />greater inducements to the shipper,and to increase the tax would hut~h~e ~8~effe~tlof~dr~ving~them
<br />from our borders, thereby diminishing cur revenues to a gr~t e~tent.
<br />
<br /> "The City received from liquor licenses in the year 1910 $20,000.00, or AO% of all license
<br />taxes~ and did not have to spend one cent Eot e~tr~ police protection due to the sale of liquor.
<br />This f~ct alone proves conclusively that the men engaged in the business use their best efforts at
<br />all timem to conduct and maintain law-abiding places~
<br />
<br /> ~The Finance Committee act~ hastily in this matter, The only data they possessed wa's statis-
<br />tics relative to taxation in other cities. The Co~mittee Bad no figures to show that this business
<br />is so enormously profitable. It would seem, before making a recommendation of thi~ kind, that the
<br />Con, lites should have obtained infox~ation as to the actual conditions, instead of merely assuming
<br />that these people are all getting rich out of the shipping business.
<br />
<br /> ~in submitting this to you, I ~uated by what I believe to be fair, right and equitable in the
<br />premises, that is. that the liquor dealer is now paying his ~u~t proportion of taxes, and to increase
<br />t~e rate would be ~ourdensome and ~rohibitive.
<br />
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