The Topeka state journal., 1900-02-10
ABOUT THE TAXES
County Clerks Want Uniform
System of Assessment.
Will Ask the Legislature to
Enact a Law.
ACTUAL VALUE BASIS.
System Explained in Circular
Being Sent Out.
Some of the Evils and Abuses
of Plan Now in Csc.

Ine county clerks of Kansas propose
to do what they can this spring to cor
rect some of the evils of the present
taxation system. At the recent meeting
of the state association of county clerks
at Wichita after a discussion of the in
equalities of assessment existingat pres
ent, a resolution was passed recon-
mending that all personal property be
assessed at it's actual value, from that
amount the constitutional exemption of
5000 be taken, and one-third of the re-
mainder be taken as the assessed valua-
tion.
The officers of the association were
instructed to write to the clerk of every
county in the state. asking his assist
effect, and John NJ Wright, clerk of
Shawnee county, who is president of
the state association, in connection with
the secretary, w. E. Wood, of yelling
ton. has prepared a circular letter.
which will be sent in a few days to
every county clerk in the state.
THE existing taxation laws" said
Mr.. Wright today, provide that all
property be assessed at its full actual
valuation. This is all right, but the
trouble with the law is that there is
no way of compelling assessors to carry
it out. There should be a penalty at
tacned to the law for non-c compliance.
AS it is now a candidate for township
assessor when making his campaign
tells people that he will lower his as
sessment. He gets elected and carries
out his promises, and the levy has to
be put I'D to the top notch in order
to raise revenue enough to pay the
county expenses. This has gone on
until the assessments on personal prop
erty vary from 20 per cent. of actual
value in some counties to 100 per cent.
in others. In Shawnee county it is so
per cent, but the average is probably
about 80 per cent. This causes US to
make more than our share OF the state
tax We pay just twice as much on the
dollar to the state as the county which
assesses only 25 per cent. of the ac-
tual value of its property. In nearly
every county the tax is up to the limit,
and the assessment has been CORE
spondingly decreased so as to raise
lust enough revenue to pay the ex-
penses of the county. This is the rea-
son of the great inequality in assess
| ments.
''Then there is a great inequality in
deducting the constitutional exemption.
In some counties which assess only 20
per cent. of actual value, the exemp-
ton OF 5000 is made from the assessed
valuation. Thus a man with 81, 900
worth of property would be assessed
| only 5000. from which the exemption
! would be deducted, leaving him with
no tax to pay. Under our resolution
the deduction would be made from the
81, 900, and the balance divided by three
for the assessed valuation. and the
man would pay tax on $267 instead of
no tax at all. In Shawnee county at
present a man with $400 worth of per-
Sonal property escapes taxation. The
property is assessed at so per cent. of
it's actual value and the exemption is
taken from the remainder. Under the
proposed plan the exemption would be
taken from the $400 and taxes would
be paid on one-third of the remainder"
The circular which President Wright
and Secretary Wood will send out to
the county clerks of the state will be
as follows:
AT the annual meeting of the county
clerks of the state of Kansas, held in
the city of Wichita, December 2S and
20, 1899, the question of unequal assess
ment of personal property IN the state
of Kansas was thoroughly discussed.
There being a large attendance of
county clerks from the various counties
in the state, it was ascertained that
some of the counties assessed their
personal property at 20 per cent. of it's
actual value. deducted from this the
constitutional exemption, while others
assessed at different rates, ranging
from this up to 100 per cent. of actual
value Others assessed one class of
personal property at one rate and an
other class at another rate in the same
county. Quite a number of counties
assessed their personal property at ac-
tual value From this total they de-
duct the constitutional exemption and
take one-third Of the remainder for the
total assessed value. From these fig
ures it was ascertained that in some
counties assessors were giving from ac-
tual value 5000 constitutional exemp-
ton, and in other counties they were
giving $500 from actual value.
1.-The county clerks there assembled
adopted the following resolution, in or
der to bring about, if possible, an equal
assessment of all personal property in
the state:
Resolved, That all taxable personal
property in the state of Kansas, for the
year 1900, be assessed at it's actual val
ue; that from the total assessment the
constitutional exemption of 5000 (where
the party assessed is entitled to it,, be
deducted, and one-third of the remain
der be the assessed valuation.
1.-THE boards of county commissioners