The San Francisco call., 1897-05-11
FARM TAXES.

The United States Department of Agri-
culture has issued circular on Local
Taxation as Affecting Farms" which will
be read with interest throughout the
country and may be studied with advan-
tage by all who are concerned in questions
of tax legislation. The circular is based
manly upon data obtained in New York,
but it reviews the tax laws of other States,
including California. and affords fairly
comprehensive summary of the system of
farm taxation throughout the Union.
The report points out that while local
taxation is subject discussed by confer
ences OF farmers with more earnestness
than any other subject of legislation, and
a great deal of discomfort is felt with
present conditions, yet there is not a State
in the Union in which the general m ethods
OF taxation as they now stand were not
originally dictated by farmers, The laws.
however, have not operated as was eX-
pected. AS the report says, 1.-THE farmers
in all the States have obtained all the
laws which they asked for, but they never
could make these laws work.
The evil il is said, does not lie in dis
honest or inefficient administration. On
the contrary, it is declared that taking the
country over 1.-THE better the law is from
the farmers theoretical standpoint the
worse it is for him in practice, and the
more faithfully 1t is administered the
more does the average farmer suffer from
its effect Even the California system of
requiring detailed assessment of prop
erty separately classified does not produce
the hoped-ior results, and leaves the bur-
den OF personal property taxation much
heavier on the farms of the State than on
the cities.
Statistics gathered for the purpose of
this investigation show that while q
larger proportion of personal property Is
returned under the listing system than
under the other system, yet in all cities
governed under that system the proper
ton of personal property to real property
shrinks about as much with each succeed
ing year as in cities where no lists are re-
quired. while the proportion of personal
property belonging to farmers which is
assessed and taxed under The listing sys-
tenn is greater than it is where that sy stem
does not exist.
Until further and completer studies have
been made OF the subject it will not be
possible to draw definite conclusions as to
the best means of rem medying the evils thai
are now apparent The author of the cir
cular under review estimates, upon the
basis of assessments made in Massachu-
setts, that if farms were assessed only at
their strictly unim proved value the valua-
tion would be only 40 per cent of the i'm.
proved or market value, while the unim.
proved value of city lots should be So per
cent of the improved value. In some
States the assessments as made at present
almost reverse this percentage.
The subject is one which requires the
scientific study OF trained experts to deal
with it thoroughly. No true remedy can be
found by the struggle of town and farm to
shift the weight of the burden of taxation
upon the other by means of boards of
equalization. which, as the circular saws
of that in New York, "every year in
creases the valuation of New York City
although it is honestly made, and de.
creases the valuation in the interior of
the State, where it is far less honestly
made, for the sole purpose of taking off
one or two million dollars year from the
farmers taxes and laying them upon the
large cities''