VII. This order shall go into effect on and after July 1, 1900. VIII. All laws and provisions or parts thereof in conflict with the provisions of this order are hereby revoked. No. 254. J. B. HICKEY, Assistant Adjutant-General. HEADQUARTERS DIVISION OF Cuba, The military governor of Cuba, upon the recommendation of the secretary of finance, directs the publication of the following order concerning the municipal treasury: I. From and after July 1, 1900, the system of municipal taxation shall be the one established by this order, which revokes everything contained in former systems not specifically excepted herein. II. Municipal expenditures and income shall be regulated by an annual estimate, or budget, prepared in conformity with the municipal law that may be in force at the time of its preparation. Said budget shall comprise the expenditures that may be necessary during the fiscal year, with due specification of items and services to which they pertain, and the duly authorized income destined to meet the expenditures. The budget will show the expenditures and income to be exactly balanced, and no obligation shall be entered into, nor any payment made that is not provided for in the budget, without the express permission of the military governor in each case. III. The general treasury of the island will pay the expenses of higher instruction and, until further orders, those of primary instruction; those of justice, with the exception of correctional and municipal courts; those of the audiencia prisons, with the exception of that in the city of Habana, and the police, except that in the city of Habana. It will give aid to such hos itals and charitable institutions as are not self-sustaining, and will, in all towns where it may be necessary, pay the expenses of sanitation. It will pay for public works of general utility. All the above payments to be in the manner and to the amount provided for in orders of the military government in force, and all such as may be issued hereafter. The treasury will pay no other municipal expenses. IV. The incomes shall be divided into obligatorios y voluntarios (obligatory and voluntary). Obligatory incomes are the following: (a) Rentals and proceeds of properties; rights, or invested capital, that for any reason constitute the patrimony of the municipality. (b) Rentals and proceeds of property; rights, or invested capital, belonging to institutions of public charity, education, and others of like nature, the management of which pertains to the municipality. (c) The rates, in accordance with the general tariff agreed upon by the municipalities, for furnishing water from municipal aqueducts, and for other services of like nature, as well as for those of industrial or semiindustrial character not of general use, but for the advantage of interested parties who may ask for them. (d) A special annual license tax on the direct sales for consumption of wines, liquors, and aguardientes, and, in general, on spirituous and fermented liquors, to be freely regulated by the municipalities. (e) A tax also regulated by the municipalities on carriage and transportation business, rafting, and navigation in the waterways, or on the interior traffic of the harbors. The taxable industries must be carried on within the municipal districts. Should they consist of tramways or suburban railroads traversing another municipal district, the municipalities interested will agree as to the manner and rate of taxation; the municipalities where the company's station with the principal workshops and warehouses is situated will make the collection of taxes, which shall be distributed in proportion to the number of kilometers of track in each municipality. Each municipality will collect from the company the “territorial” tax pertaining to it. Should the interested municipalities not come to an agreement as to the manner and rate of taxation, or as to any of the necessary details to bring about the collection thereof, the secretary of finance will settle the controversy within the period of thirty days from the date on which he may have received the necessary data for the purpose. The Department may ask for further information, should it so deem proper, and direct the adoption of whatever measures it considers proper. Either of the interested parties may appeal to the governor of the island from the decision of the secretary of finance for final judgment, provided said appeal is made within twenty days from the date of the receipt of the decision of the secretary of finance. If within the aforesaid period the municipalities should arrive at an agreement, all further intervention by the department shall cease. Be it understood that a suburban railroad line is ". one having its terminal stations at points near the city limits, and is mainly, if not exclusively, engaged in the transportation of passengers outside of city limits to suburban towns or villages." (f) Taxes on city and country property levied in accordance with the laws and regulation in force, and with the changes made by this order. (g) The industrial tax under the heading comprised in the first three tariffs of the regulations in force, with the exception of the heading reserved by the central office, in accordance with the rulings in force, and with the changes contained in this order. (h) A license tax on industries, trade, professions, and arts at present comprised in the fourth and fifth tariffs in the manner that the municipality may agree upon. (i) When the business of rafting and lightering, in connection with the interior traffic of harbors, is carried on in a port that is bounded by more than one municipal district, the same quota will be for all, and will be collected by the municipality where the business office is situated. If said business is on waterways, the tax will also be collected by the municipality within which the office is situated. Carts and vehicles used for the transportation of the products of rural properties by the owners thereof or their agents, are exempted from the payment of said tax, provided the carts or vehicles are the property of said owners. (j) A tax on municipal contracts for the performance of public services, or of public nature rendered within the district in proportion to the profits accruing to the holders of said contracts, be they private individuals, associations, or companies, not to exceed 6 per cent of said profits. (k) The quotas established for the use of the municipal slaughterhouses and for the killing of cattle outside of the same, in accordance with the order of June 9, 1899. (1) A tax on articles of luxury, comfort, or of inconvenience to the neighborhood, such as riding horses, private carriages, dogs, etc., the tax on bitches being $5 and on dogs $2.50. (m) Fees that under the laws pertain to municipalities, such as those for proving weights and measures, and such like. (n) Municipal fines, pecuniary indemnities that pertain to the municipality, surcharges levied upon delinquent taxpayers, and pecuniary penalties imposed on defrauders of the municipal rentals and incomes. (0) A tax of 5 per cent on the gross income of cemeteries that do not belong to the municipality. Voluntary incomes are the following ones: (a) An assessment or license tax on trades that are occasionally exercised on the public highways at fixed or varying places. (b) Remuneration for the carriage of slaughtered meats from slaughterhouses to market stands, in the towns and districts in which heretofore the service existed. (c) Taxes on the following: Utilization and supply of the public municipal waters for private use. (Water rates.) Municipal mineral baths. Permits for building in towns. Burials in municipal cemeteries (only to be imposed upon those who are taxpayers to the extent of at least $30 annually). Funeral carriages (hearses). Issuance of certificates in the case of municipal records or documents filed in the archives, whenever it be not in case of appeal of any of the residents against the municipality. Public entertainments and balls. Lawful games. V. The voluntary receipts will be freely assessed by the municipalities. VI. The rate of tax on leviable income, on city property, will not be above the following: Twelve per cent in the whole municipal district of Habana. Ten per cent within the city limits of the present capitals of provinces and the municipal districts of Cardenas, Sagua la Grande, Caibarien, Gibara, Manzanillo, Cienfuegos, Marianao, Regla, and Guanabacoa. Eight per cent in the remaining districts of the provinces of Pinar del Rio and Habana; in the capitals of judicial circuits, with the exception of Bayamo and Moron; in the districts of Union de Reyes, Bolondron, Corral Falso de Macurijes, Jovellanos, in the province of Matanzas; in the municipal districts of the judicial circuits of Sagua la Grande, Remedios, Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, and in the city limits of Ciego de Avila. Six per cent in the districts not mentioned and excepted in the foregoing paragraphs; in the rural wards of the capitals of Santa Clara, Puerto Principe, and Santiago de Cuba, and in the rural wards of the capitals of judicial circuits not especially mentioned in the preceding paragraph. VII. The territorial contribution on leviable income of rural property will not exceed the following: Eight per cent on sugar plantations to manufacture sugar, and working as such. Six per cent on plantations devoted to the cultivation of sugar cane, tobacco, or to various other products at the same time, in an industrial sense. VIII. The other rural properties will be taxed according to the following rates: Six per cent on those situated in the present judicial circuits of Habana, Guanabacoa, and Marianao. Four per cent on those located in the rest of the province of Habana less than 4 leagues distant from the capital of the province, and the cities of Cardenas, Sagua la Grande, Cienfuegos, and Manzanillo. Two per cent on those in the remainder of the island. IX. The territorial tax will be administered and collected in accordance with the regulations and orders in force or which may be issued in the future. The present assessments will serve as a basis until another one is made. X. In the assessment of taxes on city property the municipality may, at the request of the party interested or of its own accord, after hearing the parties interested, make all proper rectifications. Said partial rectifications shall be ordered by the municipal mayor or decided upon by the municipal council, and will be agreed to by a majority of votes of the commission of finance of the ayuntamiento, associated with an equal number of taxpayers on city property who are permanent residents of the district and are appointed by the mayor. In the case of rectification the right of appeal can be had before the secretary of finance. XI. The following rules will be observed in the collection of territorial taxes on rural properties: 1. Only rural property which has not been destroyed by the war will be taxed. 2. For the purpose of fixing the tax rate, the products from the cultivation of minor crops for the maintenance of the occupants of any property devoted by its nature to any other kind of industry will not be included. 3. Each municipality will make a general census of rural properties in accordance with instructions that are published by the military government, and in the meantime they can collect, in accordance with the census at present in force, the taxes on the rural properties which were not destroyed by the war. XII. A commission composed of three councilmen appointed by the mayor and three taxpayers on rural property, who are permanent residents of the locality, will adjust claims presented by the taxpayers on rural properties. A decision will be reached by a majority of votes. Appeal against said decision can be had before the secretary of finance. XIII. The industrial subsidy on the items included in the first three tariffs of the regulation in force will be collected in conformity with the present contributors' list, and the additions and deductions that may have occurred, or may occur, and in conformity with the regulations and other instructions in force, but all subject to the following rules: 1. In the municipalities where city property may pay as a maximum 12, 10, and 8 per cent on the leviable income, respectively, the rate will be that corresponding to its class, and the deduction stipulated in the decree of March 25, 1899, will be abolished, only the taxes on personal salaries, gymnasiums, and institutions of learning remaining suppressed. 2. In the districts and wards where city property continues paying 6 per cent the rate will be that corresponding to its class, and the reduction stipulated in said decree of March 25, 1899, will be abolished, except in the case provided for in the foregoing paragraph in relation to the personal salaries, gymnasiums, and institutions of learning. XIV. The commission of finance of the municipality, associated with an equal number of subsidy payers, who are permanent residents of the district and appointed by the mayor, will adjust claims of subsidy payers. A decision will be subjected to a majority of votes. Appeal against said decision may be had before the secretary of finance. XV. The secretaries of the various commissions created by this order will be appointed by the mayor. XVI. The municipalities will collect all their receipts by administration; that is, through their salaried personnel, according to the municipal budget, and who shall have furnished the bond required by law. All extra taxes, fines, indemnifications, and pecuniary penalties of a municipal nature will be duly deposited in the municipal treasury. XVII. It is understood that all rates of tax are payable in American currency or its equivalent. The rents, profits, values, and all kinds of incomes, whenever rectification, revisions, and census be made, must be collected in the same kind of money. In the case of previous pecuniary obligations, what may have been stipulated must be complied with, but in the future contracts must be made on the basis of United States currency. XVIII. Territorial taxes, city and rural, will be collected for the present quarterly in advance. The taxpayer will pay the quota within the first thirty days of the quarter to which it belongs. From the first day of the following month he will be considered tardy, and will be charged 6 per cent interest until the date of settlement, should he effect the payment within six months. If six months should elapse without a settlement, the charge for the delay will be 12 per cent of the said contribution, and said 12 per cent will be charged until settlement. One year from the date of the original obligation the property will be seized to collect the quota, the extra charges and expenses incurred in the proceedings of the embargo. The municipality will have on the real estate of the debtor the legal mortgage established by the mortgage law in force for the quotas of the last two years. XIX. Industrial taxes and patents, licenses and taxes on provisions, will be exacted quarterly in advance if the quotas be not in full or annual. New taxpayers will pay the respective quota at the time the license is issued. After the first month of the quarter year the taxpayers of said classes will be charged an extra 10 per cent; after the second, 25 per cent, and after the third the property of the debtor will be seized and sold to pay the debt, with an extra charge of 12 per cent of interest on the quota until the day of settlement, plus the expenses entailed by the proceedings. XX. A payer of industrial taxes or of patents, levies, and license, is obliged to have in a visible place in his store, shop, or office the receipt of the last payment due and made. If this order is not complied with, a fine of from $10 to $50 will be imposed, which must be paid to the municipal treasure. In case of repetition of the offense, the store, shop, or office will be closed. XXI. Each receipt shall state the nature of the tax it represents as well as the individual quota of the payer. Should the receipt be for rural or city property taxes, the leviable income of the property and its corresponding quota, with the percentage it represents, will be stated therein. XXII. The taxpayer who considers the taxes or assessment charged to him illegal may appeal to the department of finance during the first month of the quarter year to which the notice refers for any kind of property. The department of finance may suspend the collection pending its decision, if it deems proper, without detriment to its final action. Whatever rights to civil and criminal action the law in force may sanction shall remain unaffected. XXIII. At the beginning of each quarter year the municipal collector will send each taxpayer a written notice stating the amount of his indebtedness for the quarter year, leaving it at the residence or store taxed. In said notice shall be inserted this article, the preceding one [XXII], and those relating to tardiness. XXIV. The rectifications that may be made in the assessment shall have no retroactive effects. To the payer of the subsidy tax, or of any other kind, term of thirty days is granted in order that they may rectify the nature of their taxation, or to make their declarations without incurring any penalty. XXV. Municipal taxes shall not be collectible from the taxpayer ipso facto after the expiration of the two succeeding years to which they may correspond. XXVI. The prohibition of taxes, assessment, or patents on eatables, drinkables, and combustibles, such as wood and coal, is ratified; also on importation or exportation that may affect free competition or circulation of wealth. The taxation on meats is also prohibited, except as heretofore provided. XXVII. The central office will continue to collect taxes and contributions kept in force by the orders published up to date. CUBA 1900—VOL I, PT 1 -29 XXVIII. The municipalities will forward to the finance department a copy of the approved municipal estimates. XXIX. The department of finance may make an inspection of municipal accounts every half year. No. 255. HEADQUARTERS DIVISION OF CUBA, The military governor of Cuba, upon the recommendation of the secretary of justice, directs the publication of the following order: Municipal judges who were elected on the 16th of June, 1900, shall take oath of office and enter upon the discharge of the duties of the same in the manner prescribed in articles 109 and 110 of the Digest of January 5, 1891. No. 256. J. B. HICKEY, Assistant Adjutant-General. HEADQUARTERS DIVISION of Cuba, RULES AND REGULATIONS. The military governor of Cuba directs the publication of the following order: The following rules and regulations of the presidio at Habana are hereby promulgated, and the warden of said presidio is hereby ordered to see that said rules and regulations are enforced. These rules and regulations supersede all rules and regulations previously published. J. B. HICKEY, Assistant Adjutant-General. The control and management of the presidio at Habana is hereby vested in the secretary of state and government, who shall have power to appoint, with the approval of the military governor of the island of Cuba, a "warden" and "deputy warden," and shall have power to appoint, on the recommendation of the warden, all other officers provided for herein and necessary for the safe-keeping, care, and protection of convicts. THE WARDEN. Every convict, when discharged from the presidio, shall be furnished with transportation to the place or his residence at the time of his commitment, under sentence of the court, and if the term of this imprisonment shall have been for one year or more, he shall also be furnished with suitable clothes, cost not to exceed $7, and $5 in money. 1. The warden, in the performance of his duties as chief executive officer of the presidio of Habana, shall be guided by such rules and orders as may be promulgated by the military governor of Cuba and by the secretary of state and government for the presidio. THE DEPUTY WARDEN. 2. The orders of the warden shall be cheerfully and implicitly obeyed by all subordinate officers under his charge, and he shall have power to suspend, and for flagrant violations of orders or failure in the performance of duty he may dismiss, subordinates, subject to the approval of the military governor if the appointment of said officer was approved by him, and subject to the approval of the secretary of state and government if the appointment was approved by him. 3. It is the duty of the warden to see that all rules and regulations pertaining to all departments of the penitentiary are firmly and impartially enforced. 1. The deputy warden is the assistant and agent of the warden in the general government and management of the penitentiary more particularly in matters of discipline of its officers and convicts. |