The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1903-03-21
THEY DISCUSS IT..
THE PLAN OF RAISING PROPER
TY VALUATIONS FOR ASSESS
MENT IN BENTON.


Raise All or Raise
None, They Say.
There is much local discussion
now of valuations in the assess.
anent. The order of the commits
sioners court requiring all property
to be assessed at its cash value oc-
casions the talk. The order itself
is in accordance with the state law,
which specifically sets forth that
all property for purposes of tax
alton shall be assessed at its true
cash value.
So far as heard there is more
favor than objection to the plan of
the commissioners court in re-
quiring the law to be properly ap-
piled. The chief fear in the matter
seems to be that the raise to cash
basis may not be made to reach all
property If it does apply to all,
ruany say much benefit will ac-
cTue, for then the taxation will be-
coE1e more uniform, and therefore
Egrore just and equitable. Under a
system of low valuations, one man
gets his property assessed at a
aagaca lower valuation than does
his ueighbor This makes one pay
Euore, while the other escapes with
less than his just share of the burd
en. IL however, every piece of
property is valued at its cash value,
absolute uniformity will be attained
GEd the whole burden of taxation
viii be equitab1y distributed The
success of the plan is largely in the
Eanas oS the assessor, and the
people are looking to him, to see
that if ~oae or dozen pieces of
property is raised to the cash value,
that all shall be similarly valued.
The raise ia the valuation does
not mean that more taxes shall be
paid. "A raise in value will reduce
ER1e levy. With double the val
uaaion, but half the levy will be
required. If the total valuation
were this year.. double what it is,
the levy would be ID mills instead
of rs mills. Newcomers about to
settle in the county would be less
frightened by the levy. Fourteen
mills to them would seem much
more desirable than a 28 mill levy.
Besides. if about to buy a farm at
$1,000 and on inquiry at the court
house they should discover it to be
assessed at only 81 900, they would
not be seized with the idea that the
seller was about to skin them badly
In the trade. Thus viewed, the
change in the system of valuations
will be of vast benefit.
Some think more state taxes will
have to be paid, if valuations are
raised. This is not true. The
state taxes are no longer levied on
a basis of the property valuation
of the county That was once the
law, but it has been changed. The
same is true also of the state school
tax. 1t was formerly a five
mill levy on the property valuation
= 0S As ~ ~ ioAdtuAS SAduSGd III lC-
quiring six dollars to be collected
on each child of school age. Ac-I
cordingly a cash valuation in the as
sessment adds nothing to the am
ount that goes out of the county
tor state or state school purposes.
A final fact in connection with
cash valuation is the effect it ought
to have in bringing money and
notes into assessments. With pro-
perty assessed at only one-ha1f |
or one-fourth its value, as has
largely been the case, holders of
money and notes have been driven
to avoiding taxation as much as
possible. If they gave in their
money OF their notes, the latter
were assessed at their full value,
The assessment on $1,000 in cash
was a valuation of $1,000. The
valuation on piece of land or a
house reasonably worth $1,000 was
TRrhaps $500. Money-owners and
note-owners have often been as
sailed for not reporting their as
sessments, but after all, the know
aedge that they were to be assessed