The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-02-07
CITE INDIANA LAW
Opponents of Tax Bill Now Before
the Legislature.
A FEW POINTS BY ASSESSOR FORT
Changes Form, but Doesn't
Disappear.

One of the arguments noted against the
new tax bill is that it follows closely the
Indiana law and that in practice the In
diana law which was designed to make
personal property bear it's proper share Of
the tax burden, failed to have that effect
after the first year or two.
1t is said that while the assessors
books did show large increase in the
amount Of the personal property valuation
at the start, the amount decreased rapidly
from year to year until the new law was
giving no better results in the amount Of
the personal property tax collected than,
the one it displaced
Admitting all this, and also that this
would be the inevitable result under the
operations Of the new tax bill in Mime
sofa, City Assessor oFrt believes that, as
an argument against the BILL the claim is
neither sound nor conclusive. The ex-
PLANTATION Of the disappearance of the per-
sonal property after the first year or two
is not hard to find, he thinks. In his
opinion, the facts, if followed up closely
would show that the personal property re-
moved from places where it was caught
for taxation did not generally get away
from the assessor but went into real
estate or other forms Of investment,
either in the home state or elsewhere.
'It is but natural said Mr.. Fort this
morning, that man when taxed on per-
sonal property that had previously escaped
taxation should change it into some other
form Of investment. 1t is probable that
the stimulus of even small tax on per-
sonal property in this state would drive
considerable amounts from the savings
banks and other places of deposit into
real estate and other legitimate invest
ments. This is the natural conclusion.
1t does not follow that a material reduc-
ton in the amount of the personal prop
erty valuation means that ALL or even the
greater share of the property lost from
view, is going to escape taxation. II it
will have the effect in this state of slim
ulating real estate Investment l think the
public would generally agree that in this
regard the law was a good thing"
Mr.. Fort is of the opinion that the new
tax law would be the means of increasing
the personal property valuation of the
state largely, in that it would put much
| more power in the hands of the assessor
and his deputies and make it harder for
the community to evade personal prop
! erty 'show down." Under the present
| law an assessor can enter a house only
under sufferance. Legally he has nc
| rights there, and in the case of large
| number Of the homes of Minneapolis
| where the household treasures are the
greatest he never gets beyond the servant
in the vestibule. His only recourse is to
back out as gracefully as possible and
. levy an arbitrary assessment. Later the
householder seeks out the assessor and
swears most of the assessment off, This
is the way the present law works.
In other cases the assessors never get
inside the premises-the big storage
houses, for instance. ~
Il have no doubt" declared a veteran
deputy assessor, that if the new law
were put into effect we could add to our
personal property valuation in Mime
apolis some hundreds of thousands Of dol
lars from the storage warehouses alone.
There are immense quantities Of house
hold goods, merchandise, ETC., in these
places, and as it is now, we. do not get
even glimpse of them and they are not
reached at all by the assessor"