Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1901-03-11

tho amount OF the tax TO Dc III
posed and the method Of taxation.
The speaker said that the purpose OF
the commission had been to approx
mate as nearly as possible the value
of the property held by these corpora
lions. Exact valuation would be an
impossibility. The property in the
state which is taxed is contained III
some 1900 taxation districts. Then
there was no uniform ratio of assessed
values to actual values in the state
as a whole or between counties,
which made the work of the commits
sion extremely difficult. It was found
that in most districts the sales were
so far and the ratios between real and
assessed value were so varied that~it>
was impossible to make any uniform
statement The commission con-
cluded that by comparison OF as
sessed and selling values a general
ratio might be made which would De
approximately correct.
The value of real estate in each as
sessment district was = calculated
separately. The aggregate of the con
siderations for sales was made and
also the aggregate of the assessed
valuation of the same lands for five
years. The percentage was Wound De
tween the selling and assessed values
and the average total real valuation
of the property in the district was
thus ascertained. This calculation
was divided by the percentage be-
tween the selling and assessed values
and it was found that the total as
sessed valuation of property III
the state was $1,192,867, 900.
The city Of Milwaukee contains nearly
one-fifth of the taxable property in the
state and the per centage of real to
assessed value of property in that
city in 1900 was So per cent. The
ratio of assessed valuation for the
whole state had been found to be
43 4-10 per cent; that of farm land
was below 40 per cent. The assessed
valuation of all the real estate in the
state was $518, 824,553.
Mr.. Curtis said stocks in corpora
tons were generally considered as
personal property, while they were
only the representatives of the tangi-
Bile property held by the corporation.
This stock is not only not property in
the true sense, but it should not be
taxed To count bonds and property
also would entail double taxation. As
the commission proceeded it was IN
able to do otherwise than to assume
that the general value of personal
property could only be ascertained by
finding it's average assessed value in
each district and applying the per
centage to it. Thus they found the
value of assessed personal property
in the state to be $751, 733,744, or a
total of real estate and personal prop
erty Of $1,444, 591, 243. He quoted. At
railway at the meeting called by the
commission last week as saying that
he did not see how the real value of
railroad property could be ascer-
aimed. Judge Dickinson was quoted
as saying that; the investigation en-
tailed an almost impossible task He
said that after the commissioners had
listened to the railroad counsel they
were very slightly enlightened.
Mr.. Curtis said that some authori-
ties held that the value of the stocks
of railroads was a fair basis for deter
mining the value of the roads and
stated that the commission had
adopted this basis. The commission
had them sent out to the various
roads in the state for detailed state
ments on the quotations of their stock
for the past 8 years, but very few Of
the roads had responded. Then the
commission took from recognized
stock journals the monthly average of
stocks for term of years. Later
to obtain the valuation of these roads
in this state the commission had TAX
en- the per centage of the road 'ssentire
mileage as. compared with the mileage
of the state and had fixed its calcula-
lions on that basas. Mr.. Curtis said
there was no doubt that the value of
stocks and bonds was based on their
earning power and that their market
value was established. by their income.
Judge Dickinson Speaks.
Judge Dickinson, representing the
Illinois Central, followed Mr.. Curtis.
He said that the report submitted by
the gentlemen of the commission had
plunged the railway counsel into the
darkness Of chaos. He said they felt
that the railroad corporations were
bearing their full burden of taxation
and that the report of the commission
did them not an intentional but never
the less a gross injustice.
The bills he said involved economic
questions of the greatest Importance,
whose results would be far reaching.
They asked the roads to pay from
100000 to 100000 each year more
than now. The commissioners them
selves agreed that their findings could
not be considered final, and the
speaker thought conditions should be
fam liz