The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-07-18
Tax Assessments.
How the State Board Equalized
Assessments.
Pulling up the Real Estate Figures.
State. July Ii.

State, July l3.
The State board of equalization
has finished it's work. The assess
ment on real estate has been slightly
raised, but not as much as some want
ed. Yet there will no doubt be consid.
cradle complaint about what was done.
1t looked as if every member of the
committee was looking out for his
own interests and in one or two in
stances there seemed to be plain
desire to shove the burden of the
increase in assessments on the pro-
perty in the towns and cities. The
assessment raises are thought to be
sufficient to meet the loss of phos-
phate revenue on the basis of taxa
tion fixed by the General Assem-
bly,.
After some debate it was decided
to amend the return from the various
counties as follows:
Beaufort, 10 per cent reduction
Berkeley, 10 per cent reduction
Georgetown. 10 per cent. reduction,
Horny, 5 per cent. increase Marion,
10 per cent increase Sumter, II
per cent increase; Williamsburg, 2
per cent increase Clarendon, per
cent, increase Edgefeld, 10 per
cent. increase /; Orangeburg, 20 per
cent. increase, Lexington, 10 per
cent. increase; Kershaw, 8 per cent.
increase Chesterfield, per cent.
increase Fairfield, 8 per cent. in
crease; Anderson, 4 per cent. re-
duction on all buildings outside Of
the cities and towns; Oconee 10 per
cent. increase Laurens, 4 per cent.
increase The returns from all of
the other counties were accepted as
made by the various county boards.
After this preliminary revision of the
assessments was made, the following
motion was accepted:
"Resolved, That when per cent.
is added or deducted to any county,
it shall apply to all real property in
such county. unless the county be
specified y
At the afternoon session a
special committee from Orangeburg
was heard and the increase on
Orangeburg county was cut from 20
to 10 per cent.
1t was after the preliminary figures
had been agreed upon that the final
struggle came. A special committee
was appointed to see what if any fur
ther equalization might be requisite.
The committee returned with a re-
port which recommended an increase
on all of the counties in the first di-
vision of 10 per cent an increase of
10 per cent. on all of the counties in
the second division, with the excep-
ton of Florence and Clarendon,
which it was suggested ought to be
raised 20 per cent. 4 general in
crease of 10 per cent. was recon.
mended for the counties in the third
division and an all round increase Of
per cent for the tier of coun-
ties in the fourth division All of
these increases were on lands sout
side of towns and cities. and included
improvements.
The idea of the committee was to
make the equalization run the assess
ments on the lands up in this way:
First division-present assessed
value per acre, 50 &c; per cent. in
crease suggested, 10 per acre as re-
commended, S3l4.
Second division-present assessed
value per acre, s4.04; per cent, in
crease suggested, 10; per acre as
recommended, s4.44
Third division-present assessed
value per acre, s. 81; per cent. in.
crease suggested. 10; per acre as re-
commended, S3.7o.
Fourth dlvision-present assessed
value per acre. s4Sl; per cent. in
crease suggested, + per acre as re.
commended, S5 co.
The proposition came like cy-
clone on the board and there were
cries from all around the room that
no further increases were wanted.
DR.. Baer, who acted as chairman of
the committee, said that the COM
mittee did not go through the work
for the mere fun of the thing That
Mr.. Norton, the secretary of the
board, who was familiar with the
needs of the State, had told them
that it was desired to raise the
assessment to 500, 100000 as the
State had, for the present at least,
lost the phosphate royalty.
Mr.. Magruder of Florence said
that the proposed increase for his
county was entirely too high
Mr.. Hardin of Chester thought
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