The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1894-03-21
late some fundamental principle of the

What is the rule or system OF taxa
ton adopted by the Board Of Equal!Za
ton for railroads2 The General AS
semblv Of South Carolina are instruct
ed by the Constitution to prescribe
such regulations as will secure a just
valuation for taxation OF all property
under uniform and equal rate of as
sessment and taxation. (ArtIcle .
Section 1.) The Act passed pursuant
thereto provides that "Au property
shall be valued for taxation at is true
value in money, which in all cases Dot
otherwise especially provided for by
law shall be as follows, to wit: Fol
personal property, the usual selling
price on the usual terms of similar
property at administrators or execu
tors sales at the place where the return
is made, and for real property the
usual selling price on the usual terms
of similar property at sales for partl
tion under the order of court at ths
place where the return is made. Il
there be no selling price then what Is
honestly believed could be obtained fol
the same at a fair sale under the con
ditions before meltioneG?" Genera
Statutes of South Carolina, Sector
219) Apart from the consideration
that even if the assessment fixed BY
this board or the property of complain
ant is excessive this court cannot IN
terfere. (Stanley VS.. the Supervisors
supra) There is no reason to thi INK
that the board do not in the language
of the Act honestly believe that the
value fixed by them on this property is
its selling price at a fair SALE Indeed
this last conclusion is not denied. The
complainant AYERS that the property
was returned by him at 60 or 65 pei
cent. of its real value in his estimation
And we can presume that when IL was
raised by the board they acted under
the statute. The ground for complaint
is that by uniform and notorious prac
tice other real and personal property Is
assessed for taxation at about 80 to 6l
per cent. of its value Notwithstanding
the Act of Assembly, and that this &C
ton of the Board of Equalization fol
railroads, departing from this practics
ID the case of railroad property Eas
with the design, intent and purpose OF
putting the burden of tax alone on
railroads and not in order to carry out
the provision of the Act of Assembly
Evidence Of this design is deduced
from the course pursued with regard
tootner property in the State, and the
practice prevailing of assessing such
property below its real value IN money
practice well known to this board
and departed from by them ID assess
ing the property of railroads.
In South Carolina the general mode
of assessing property for taxation is as
follows: Each county in the State is
divided into tax districts, small terrific.
rial subdivisions, for the sake Of con
venience. The County Auditor ap-
points for each tax district three free.
holders resident therein as a board OF
assessors. They meet, organize, elect
chairman and proceed to assess foi
taxation all the real and personal prop
erty in their tax district. This assess,
ment is sent to the County Auditor, by
whom it is submitted to the County
Board of Equalization, which consists
of all the chairmen OF the tax district
boards. This county board meets al
the office of the Auditor and examines
the returns Of all the tax district
boards. II any property, real or per
sonaI, has been returned below its true
value they raise the assessment. II
above such value they decrease It.
They cannot reduce the aggregate be.
low the aggregate of ali the returns OF
the tax district boards. The cheirmen
of the county boards constitute the
State Board of Equalization. 1t in
turn reviews the action of all the coun'
ty boards. It has the same power as
to increasing or diminishing values
that the county boards have. The
Auditors of the counties act as clerks
of the county boards, and the Conpt-
roller General attends upon the State
board.
With regard to rsil,oad property 80
entirely different method prevails. The
president and secretary of each com
psny is required annually to make re-
turns to the Comptroller General OF
the railroad property and its value
These returns are submitted by the
Comptroller General for consideration
and action to q board consisting OF
State officers. the Attorney General. the
Comptroller General, the Secretary OF
State and the State Treasurer. Their
duties are to "eQualize the value OF the
property of railroad companies by in.
creasing the value OF the roads and
property of such company as shall IN
their Judgment have been returned at
too low 8 valuation and diminishing
the value of such as may have been re-
turned at too high valuation" Gen
eral Statutes, Section 1856. The term
here used is ''equalize." But as there
is no aggregate to be maintained as in
the case of county taxes, this Woro
must be used with reference to the Ian
guase of the Constitution aud must be
construed to mean to secure equality
This board IS entirely distinct in per
sonnel and otherwise from the other
boards above referred to.
A mass of testimony has been taken
and has been filed with the record with
respect to the mode and practice OF as
sessment by the tax district and coun-
ty boards. It would consume toe
much time to go into this detail. The
result shows that for long period OF
time up to recent date, and perhaps uI
to this time, the provisions Of the Act
of Assembly have lot been regarded
and real AID personal property have
been assessed for taxation below the
real value in money. But nowhere does
it appear in the testimony that this Is
the result of preconcert, connivance OF
conspiracy between and among the
boards, such as appears in Cummings
VS.. National Bank, supra. There lsev
dence OF coincidence in opinion and &C
ton Of concurrence in methods and IN
general result, but none whatever, that
is of direct evidence, Of preconcert IN
action. Such concert Of action may
possibly be inferred from similarity II
the result, but the evidence shows that
although the boards all assessed rea!
and personal property below Its rea
value IN money the course of the sew,
eral boards was capriclous, without
fixed method or percentage. Although
the average of valuation was below
the value in money 10 all the counties
concerning which testimony was offer
ed. in some of the counties parcels OF