The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1867-01-31
The Assessment and Collection of Taxes

or IN accordance with a resolution of the !
last Legislature, to revise and remodel the |
laws for the assessment and collection of |
taxes, have submitted the result of their la
bors to the Legislature, in the form of |
bill. The members of this committee were
Hon. Geo. Gary of Winnebago Co, Hon.
Stoddard Judd, Of Dodge and D. K Tenney 4,
of Madison.
The Madison Journal gives summary of
the principal provisions of the bill from
which we quote:
''The bill provides that the Clerk of the
Board Of Supervisors shall be county asses
sor and superintend the assessment of the
real estate in his county. lie shall appoint
such number of district assessors as the la
Dor may require, not exceeding seven in a
county. The assessment of real estate shall
be made once in three years. An account
of buildings erected or destroyed shall be ia
ken every year.
Our attention has been called to the above
provision as involving principle that ought
not to be engrafted into the new law The
Objectionable feature is that which makes
the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors coun
ty assessor and authorizes him to appoint
district assessors. 1t is objected, that the
Clerk of the Board of Supervisors may not
be SO well qualified to appoint the best men
for assessors as the people would be to elect
them. a man, it is said, entirely unac-
quainted with the value of property in the
city might be appointed district assessor,
and on the other hand, resident of the city
might be appointed district assessor for the
towns who would be just as ill qualified to
Judge Of the value of farms, &C. These OBJ
jections have. been suggested by persons
whose judgment aud experience entite them
to consideration. 1t strikes us that this OBJ
lection might be removed without destroy
ing the main features of the bill, by making
the District Assessors elective, one in each
pervisor district of the county, while the
Clerk Of the Board retains the superintend-
| ing powers assigned him by the bill.
The bills further provides
Sin assessing improved land, the land it.
self and the improvements shall be valued
separately and then aggregated, so that un-
improved land may not pay, as heretofore,
an undue portion of taxes The Town Clerk
serves notices upon persons liable to list
personal property, who are required to ap
pear before Justice of the Peace and make
oath to their taxable property. If they fail
to appear or refuse to swear, the Justice ell
ters judgment against them for penalty of
500, and issues an execution against the
body. Adequate provision is made for the
correction OF fraudulent assessments. No
persons sworn statement shall be held con-
elusive"
There is objections made to that portion
of the above, that makes it the duty of the
Town Clerk to serve notices upon persons
liable TO list personal property. This would
seem to be the duty of the District Assessor,
and it is claimed that it should be made the
duty of that officer.
We quote further from the Journals alb
stract of the provisions of the bill.
GAIL valuations must be made in the cur
/
and all property valued at what it would
ordinarily sell for at private sale, and what
the assessor or person listing believes the
owner, if ne desired to sell, would accept in
full payment.
''The detailed list of personal property to
be sworn to is very full and complete, and
thoroughly searching and cannot be avoid
ed without direct perjury.
''tor the purpose of equalization Town
Board of Review, County Board of Equali-
cation, and State Board of Equalization
composed of the Governor, Secretary of
State, State Treasurer Attorney General
and Superintendent of Public Instruction, are
provided for. Personal property is not to be
equallzed except by the Town Board of Re-
view. Taxes to be apportioned are to be
calculated and carried out upon the eqWaIjzed
Ual~atj0nS instead of the unequal and un-
constitutional method heretofore pursued of
taxing upon assessed valuations.
The County Assessor lists the stock in
banks in the town where the bank is located,
upon the sworn testimony of the cashier at
the FULL VALUE Of the stock the tax shall
be a lien upon the stock, and the bank may
pay it and have d lien for the amount and
ten per cent interest
''Ihe method of collection, by town and
county treasurer, aud the provisions regula-
ting sale OF lands for taxes, redemption from
sue sales, deed upon non-redemption, and
the like, are not substantially changed, but
are vastly abridged and simplified, and
clothed IN clear and concise language SO as
to be easily understood. The advertisement
of the Clerks list is dropped
Ample penalties are provided for infrac-
lions or evasiOns of the law, The penalties
upon assessors for false valuations, and up
ON persons required to list personal property
tor not listing the same, or for giving
fraudulent list, are severe, and well calcula
ted to secure faithful compliance with the
law. The penalty for not listing property
is five per cent, upon its value, one half 60
ing to the iDformer. The attention of the
grand jury of each county is to be especially
called at each term of the court, to the penal
sections of the law, by the Circuit Judge, and |
the grand jury shall indict all offenders"
The main features of the bill we think |
will commend themselves not only to the |
members of the Legislature but to the peo-
pie. Some Of the minor provisions, like
those we have above pointed out, aud prob
ably some others will be varied some what,
before the bill becomes a law. A satisfac
tory adjustment of this matter of assessment
and collection of taxes, is one of the great
works the present Legislature has in hand, !
and If haply our legislators accomplish the
task they can return to their constituents,
certain of receiving their highest approba-
ton.
''WOMAN's Work IN THE WAR."-Messrs
Zeiger & McCurdy, of Philadelphia have in
press, and will soon issue work of the
above title, by DR.. L. P. Brockett and Mrs.