Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-09-12
Assessments That Should Be Made.

The territorial board of equalization
now in session in this city is an able
and earnest one, and undoubtedly a
the desire to secure just assessments
over the territory. There are some fla
grant abuses in the assessment Of prop
erty which this board may or not be
enabled to remedy, and which existing
statutes may shield to some extent. But
it is high time that as far as possible
precedents should be set aside which
operate against the public interest and
where the board of equalization has the
faintesu hope of being able to secure
proper assessments upon classes of
property that escape just taxation an
attempt should be made, and if the eff
fort to make collection fails it may be
seen wherein additional legislation is
needed to increase the authority of the
assessors, collectors and the board of
equalization.
OF course, there are some apparent
restrictions, which might be sustained
or set aside, if put to the test. No an
archistie attacks upon exempt property
are advisable, but upon all property not
clearly exempt an attempt should be
made to exercise the power of assess
ment and taxation.
Some special attention should be paid
| to increasing the assessments of con-
firmed land grants, many of which pay
no honest proportion of taxes. They
should all be assessed up to the limit of
in owners who are unwilling to sell
finding it Improbable to hold for the in
creased values expected in coming dec
| AIDES, then all the better. They might be
| willing to sell in tracts small enough to
| secure purchasers who would make the
land productive Of revenu for them
| selves and the territory. Much of the
grazing land should be increased in as
sessed valuation. There are the COM
| munity grants, seven of them in Valen-
cia county alone, which, for lack of in
dividual ownership, have escaped taxa
| ton. They should be assessable under
some general power if they are not.
In Santa Fe county is the Ortiz grant,
that has just been sold for a very large
sum. 1t will presumably bring an
immense revenue to the buyer. This
tract of 81, 900 acres, if assessed at So
per acre only, would still be taxed at
but one-twelfth the recent sale price.
While the law exempts a mine from
taxation, except upon its net product
and surface improvements, the lands of
a great mining grant should not be as
| sessed like ordinary desert lands. Then
| there is the large area of copper land
recently bought by the Standard Oil
| people at Santa Rita, in Grant county.
| The price paid was 81, 25O, 900. Certain
ly it is worth every cen of that amount
or this cold blooded company, which is
gathering up all the big copper proper
| ties it can, would not have paid such a
sum. While the mines are not in opera
| ton, they soon will be, unless the object
of the company is to prevent produc-
ton by closing down the mines, in
| which ease it should be taxed out of
| llOlulllS v SuSIl d pul pOoC. IL liioS w
it's object, then the ownership is det-
| rimental to the interests of the terri
tory, for prior to the purchase last
spring some 200 leasers found profitable
| employment in working the property.
When large holdings are assessed
justly and payment of taxes enforced,
as they are more effectively under the
Duncan revenue law than ever before,
the burden will be lightened, the terri
tory be in better financial condition,
and investors will be the more willing to
undertake enterprises which will add to
the prosperity of the whole people.
The board of equalization should do
all in it's power to secure such results,
and when it has done it's best should
point out to the public in what method
the effort can be made entirely success
full.