thus obtained has little relation to the true value, because it does not take into account the great differences between properties in reserves, in life, and in capacity for future profit.
Income taxes, national and state, are of course based on the profits of the preceding year; but in the collection of these taxes from mineral operations, it is recognized that mineral deposits are wasting assets, and therefore a considerable part of the income may under the law be regarded as a distribution of capital assets, and be deducted from taxable income. The amount to be deducted obviously depends on the size of the reserves and the life,—with the result that progressive adjustment of income tax valuations tends to take into consideration exactly the same factors as are used in the ad valorem method. It is obviously unjust, for instance, to collect the same proportion of tax from the annual income of a mine which has a life of only two years as from a mine which has a life of fifty years. Under the federal income tax a capital value is placed on the mineral deposit as of March 1, 1913, which total capital value may be increased with subsequent discoveries. As the ore is taken out of the ground and sold, income tax is paid only on the difference between the assigned capital value per unit and the selling profit. If, for instance, the capital value as of March 1, 1913, is placed at 50c. per ton of mineral in the ground, and ten years later a ton is sold for a profit of $1, income tax is paid on 50c. The figure of 50c. per ton as value in the ground is actually obtained by estimating a profit, when the ore is ultimately mined and sold, of $1 per ton, and discounting this dollar to present worth as of March 1, 1913. Therefore the total amounts on which taxes are paid during the life of the mine should represent approximately the total accruals of interest from March 1, 1913. In this manner the proportion of annual income to be taxed becomes larger with the length of the life period. With a deposit having a life of thirty years the net result is