lephone companies are similarly taxed, but
sometimes on the number of transmitters, or of subscribers, or on each
plant, or otherwise. In a similar manner, express and sleeping car
companies are taxed, in the same group of states, on mileage, or on
capital stock proportional to mileage, or by license and privilege
taxes.

In the case of these corporations, and also of various other
miscellaneous kinds of companies, no clear-cut principles serve to
guide. The result is "a chaos in practice--a complete absence of
principle."[11]

Sec. 15. #Alternative policies as to corporate taxation.# If the taxation
of corporations is not to continue to be treated in a mere hit-or-miss
manner, with every possible kind of inconsistency among the various
states, some general principles must be recognized and some clear
policy be formulated. But there is no general agreement to-day among
jurists and economists upon a definite and consistent plan in this
matter.

Two alternative policies appear. The first is to make the scheme for
taxing corporations quite different in principle and plan from
that for taxing natural persons. The assumption in this is that the
"general property tax" is an irremediable failure, and is particularly
inapplicable to corporations. This plan goes along with the separation
of state and local taxation.[12] An unfortunate result of this is to
relieve the great mass of taxpayers of the state from, any apparent
and measurable part of the tax burden for state purposes and thus to
separate responsibility and power in state government. This policy
nevertheless is favored by some of the leading authorities on finance.

The other policy is to tax the wealth and business of corporations
(excepting those enjoying special privileges) in essentially the
same way as other wealth and business. The improvement of corporate
taxation would thus be but a part of the transformation of the
"general property tax" into a general tax on tangible wealth.[13]
If first there is recognized the error of assessing the equitable
ownership interests in addition to the body of wealth, and secondly
there is created an efficient agency of assessment, the taxation of
corporations can be logically and easily brought into accord with a
harmonious system of state and local taxation.[14]

Sec. 16. #General plan for corporate taxation.# The main features in such
a plan of reform would be as follows:

(a) Assessment of all wealth by a state agency