The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-09-08
Assessment vagarles.

The problem of levying an equitable and
productive tax is perhaps the most difficult
of the many political tasks which are laid
upon the people OF the United States. In
making tax levy there are natural and art
ificial difficulties to be overcome. The for
mer are inherent in the subject matter.
There are many varieties of values which it
is almost impossible to trace and estimate,
and there is frequent danger of taxing some
particular value twice, as well as of passing
over others altogether. Again there are
some kinds of property which it is injuri-
Gus to load with taxation, as it is of such
nature that it can move to localities where it
is favored by law. The second kind of obsta-
cles in the way oflevying a fair and productive
tax is the more difficult to overcome and no
system seems capable of counteracting them.
They lie in the weakness of human nature.
Theowners of property will endeavor to pre-
various localities do their best to remove
the burden of taxation from their own dis
trlcts to other parts of the State. There
may be no actual dishonesty, but there is a
vast amount of cheating without malics pre-
pense. In the State of Illinois they have
been making a second attempt to tax every
person and corporation in the State sac
cording to his, her, or its property" with
the idea of making all the real and personal
property of the commonwealth do its share
toward paying the public expenses. The
Chicago Tribune is intensely Disguised
with the result, and gives some figures to
show the utter failure of the assessment
under the system, and the inability of the
Board of Equalization to remedy the
inequalities of valuation. The State tax
for 1874. amounts to 81, 900, and the val
sum of Sl.l0O, 600 while the cash value of
the taxable property ofthe commonwealth is
actually 5000, O00, 900. The assessors have.
therefore, got at 81 per cent. of the true
amount. In some States this would be con-
sidered very fair work. Of the personal
property it is estimated that $3.50,
100000 have escaped the lynx-eyed off,
GERS OF the law. This would be small mat
ter to complain of if the depreciation in val
ues were uniform throughout the State. II
really matters little what standard is adopt
ed so long as it is fairly applied but the
same thing has happened in Illinois with its
law demanding cash valuation that has
happened in the assessment OF prop
erty in other States. 1t has been found
that where the discretion of assessors ID
relied upon an element of uncertalnty-a va.
rying quantity enters into the taxation
problem. In some counties property is re-
turned at valuation of % per cent. of its &C
tual market price. In other localities II
ranges up to so per cent, and in some town
ships adjacent tracts of land are assessed
at 80, 60, 20. and sometimes 20 per cent. OF
their value, the assessor proceeding at
random, or else varying for dishonest mo-
tives. And, in conclusion, the Tribune,
after setting forth the peculiar hardships OF
some corporations, declares that, in spite OF
all the State Board of Equalization can do,
some of the citizens will be compelled to pay