The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1876-02-17
TAKES AND TINE EQUALIZATION or
~. t5 mr." ASSESSMENTS. III <~a&zx
MELROSr. Feb - 1874


MELRosH, Feb. II, 1876.
EDITOR JoURNAL.-The present session
Of our Legislature will soon be At an end
and the country ready to reap the harvest
Of it, wisdom, if any there be.
What the country, and especially the
farming part of it, demands Of its repre-
ssntatives is to be protected against any
further injustice Of State equalization
such AZ that of 1874, when the Board
raised the value of farms in some localities
12O per cent. above the original assessment,
but thought proper to not raise the assess-
nent of real estate of villages, even if
such villages were included in the same A.
SCISSORS district. The result il, that village
real estate in some portions il worth from
two to five hundred Der cent. over its ~
sessed value and farm property il worth
ons-half Of it, valuation, a. valued BY the
State board-facts easy for your CORES
pondent to prove. Sensible farmers do not
protest against fair and equal taxation.-
They know that the current expenses Of
the government must be paid in State and
county, and they will gladly bear their
share Of the burden, but they demand that
every individual possessed of taxable prop.
erty shall take a just part of the expense.
The present limited powers of town and
city boards Of review and the unlimited au-
thority Of county and State boards of equal
ization are not satisfactory. Friendship,
wealth and other influences secure Of the
county board deductions of assessment or
abatement of tax already levied. The au.
thority of county and State boards of equal
ization to raise the valuation of taxable
property to IN unlimited extent above the
aggregate value of the assessment, az val
ued by the assessors In the county or State,
imposes on the right Of the people, and
according to Webster seems contrary to
tho meaning of the word Equalization"
Who can presume to know the real value
in equity of property, personal or real,
better than the assessors and city or town
boards? Tho equalization ought to be done
by the local authority, and ~ nearly a. pos
sible. the organization and duty of boards
of equalization should be as follows:
Town, city, county and State boards Of
equalization properly established should
have limited and equal power to equalise
within the assessed aggregate values. as
valued by the assessors. The town and
| city boards between the several individual
in their assessors' district. The county
board between the several towns in the
county, and the State board between the
several countiesin the State, with no au-
thority for either to raise the aggregate val
uation of the assessors above one pei
centum. Appeal should be allowed,
but the board from whose decision the up.
peal is taken should be heard thereat.-
The county board should not raise or re-
duce the value Of property between indi'
viduals, neither should the State board
raise or reduce tho value Of property be.
tween individuals or towns, except by ap.
peal as before stated.
Pursuant to tax laws, Section 96, Chap.
ter l, :jGeneral Laws of 1874, and Section
139 rs amended by Section 81, Chapter s
General Laws 1875, the interest on taxes
which become delinquent, being two pc,
cent. per month, is appropriated to thu
county fund. This is unjust and ought to
be changed. The interest should be addec
to such fund as it belongs to. Town ane
school districts are by law declared to b,
each "body corporate" Then by wha
good reason are they deprived of the in
terest on their own funds?
I will add that every person should b.
entitled to deduction Of his liabilities ane
should not be liable to pay tax for what h
does not own.
With much respect,
AUG, LINDBERGH,