National Republican., 1881-09-19
Virginia Assessments and Taxes.

The Democratic papers in the North
join the chorus of the Virginia Bourbon
papers in declaring that the Readjuster
leaders of Virginia underrate the re-
sources of the State for taX.paying pur-
poses. They would have it appear that
property is assessed below its value, and
that the rate of taxation is unusually
low. On these two essential points tho
statements of these voracious Bourbon
Funder journals are fatty contradicted
on the highest Bourbon Funder au-
thority. The witnesses for the Read
justers are Governor Kemper and the
late State Auditor Taylor. On the sub
iect of assessments Governor Kemper,
when acting as a commissioner for the
State, said
The returns ofthat census I1s7Ol show that all
the real and personal property of tbs United States
was valued by national officers at the grand total
of s30,OGs,5s,j07; and that ;no valuation OF the
same propertylat the .ne time, by State authorities
for purposes of ftaXSSOn, amounted TO slIl7S,9S6,.
732, and no more that is to say, the aggregate of
the State assessments was only AZ per cent of
t;Ie national assessments. The national valuation
Of all the property in Virginia, real and
personal in 1870, was s4O05SS 1888, while the State
valuation Of the same property, according to the
latest full returns is 1886 CSC %: that Is to say
while throughout the Union the State assessments
are only a per cent. of the national assessment
here in Virginia the State assessment is more than
81 per cent of the national assessment of the same
property. In other words, the assessment fprop-
erty for taxation in Virginia is relatively 90 per
cent higher than the average assessments in the
other States for the same purpose.
On the subject of taxation ex-Auditor
Taylor in his annual report for 1870, said:
The rate of State taxation on the 500 assessed
valuation is co cents in Arkansas IS cents in Cali
fornia, 15cents in Connecticut l25cents in Florida
90 cents In Georgia. SO cents in Illinois, 80 cents in
Indiana, IS cents in Kansas, 40 cents in Kentucky
1870 cents in louisiana 40 cents In Maine 1881
cents in Maryland 40 cents in Missouri, 90 cents in
Nevada, 80 cents IN New York, 202I cents in North
Carolina, 20 cents in Ohio, 40 cents in South
Carolina, 10 cents in Tennessee, so cents
in Texas, 80 cents in Vermont, and 30 cents
IN West Virginia. Here are the rates of twenty
two States averaging AZ cents ON the 500. Tho
rate in Virginia is so cents on the sl0O Nor will II
do to pretend that the people OF the other States
pay more taxes in other ways, for our city, county,
and district taxes are also easily shown to exceed
the average of the whole country or of any section
ofthc country. Nor will It do to plead that the
property in other States is assessed higher actually
than in Virginia though lower relatively, for that
only demonstrates the greater prosperity of other
States and the greater ability Of the people to en-
dure taxation,
These statements are from General Ma
homes Funder opponents. They cannot
be answered by the flippant ignorance of
those who neither read nor hear the truth.
1t is fact that property at forced sale
in Virginia does not often yield seventy
five cents on the dollar of the amount for
which it is assessed. What better test
can there be than that Of the honesty of
asseSsmentsP