The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-10-12
TAX COURTS
REASONING
Appeals Will Go
to Supreme
Court.
EIGHT TINES
ANNUAL RENTAL
Basis Upon Which Majority of
Valuations We're Fixed-Some
Unique Rulings.

Appeals from the decisions of the
Court of Tax Appeals must be filed
within twenty days, and both Assessor
Pratt and the appellants are already
preparing to take a number of cases
to the Supreme Court, to which body
all appeals go, directly.
Some Of the rulings made by the tax
court are unique and altogether I'M
usual in court procedure. In the case
of E. S. Cunha whose assessment was
increased, the court in its ruling in
formed him that he was getting too lit
tie rent for his saloon building, and
that it was worth at least $500 per
month. They then proceeded to adjust
the value upon this basis, by multiply
ing the annual rental by eight. In
many cases the court used this method
of Observation-Disclosures of the
annual rental by eight, as. the proper
method to find its value. In many
cases where lands were leased for, long
terms at very low rentals, the property
has trebled, and quadrupled in value
value and the value assessed to the
owner, is to be charged against the man
that holds the lease.
In another case the court gave as
reason for accepting the return made
by the owner, that the adjoining prop
erty which was worth more had been
assessed much less. In another case
the court deducted the ground to be
taken for a new street which has been
proposed, but which so far, has not
been taken, and may not be used by
the government for some years to
come.
Altogether forty-five decisions were
rendered, the remainder of the ninety
cases having been compromised. Some
times the court accepted the assessors
increase, and in other cases the return
made by the property owner, While
again in other cases. an entirely new
valuation was fixed by the court
The general outline of the policy of
the tax court and few recommends
tons is given in the following state
ment filed with the findings:
In determining values we have been
guided largely by the values of ada
cent property which has been return
ed for taxation has been assessed by
the assessor and the ultimate value
agreed on by both owner and assessor.
In cases where there are separate
interests in a property we have first
determined the value of the property
as a whole and then apportioned such
value among the several interests. We
found in many cases that owners of
land subject to valuable leases have
omitted TO mention such leases in their
returns, the form of tax return issued
by the tax office providing no place
for the mention of such leases, or any
membranes, and that leasehOlders
have likewise omitted to return their
leasehold interests.
In such aforementioned cases we have
allowed to returns to be amended by
the mention of the leases granted
Any other course would have resulted
in a wrong, in as much as a person
whose return was merely imperfect in
the omission of a fact to his advantage
would have had to pay taxes that
should have fallen on his leasehoIder,
who had failed to make any return at
all.
This course would give to the gov
assessor has full power to tax at any
time property that has not been re-
turned for taxation.
We would suggest that the form of
tax return issued by the tax office pro-
vide a place for setting out incum-
brances which the law requires to be
set forth.
w L. WILCOX,
c BOLTE