Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1904-06-05
REVENUE COMPLICATIONS.
How il y That Some Of the Counties
Owe the State Back Taxes.


Owe the State Back Taxes,
For some years past there has been
an accumulation of back taxes due the
State from the various counties until
now the amount reaches over $4,000.
All calls to settle up from the State
Board Of Revenue have been ignored
and finally the Board sent Deputy Con-
trOller DOane out to investigate the
books of the various counties and as
certain if possible where the trouble
lay. He has made report to the Board
and from all indications a somewhat
peculiar state Of affairs exists in sew
eral quarters
In one county he found that one dep
uty served for all the county officers
and when he was ready to go over
the books, he was informed that the
county Offices would be closed that day
as the officers were all due to attend
obliged to wait one day for the dance
to be pulled off and another for the
dancers to get rested.
In some places the books were in
such a condition as to make any at
tempt to straighten them waste Of
time.
He found two causes contributed to
the delinquencies, of which the State
complained One was where land which
was placed on the assessment roll
went delinquent because the owners
did not settle. This is State contract
land. which cannot be held for taxes
as title is not yet vested in the owner.
In this connection the Board deem-
ed it advisable to request the various
counties to file each. year with the
Board a list of such delinqnencies,
that they may not be charged up ag
ainst the county from which the tax
is due. tte'
Another source of delinquency, AMI
a very prolific one, lies in the fact
that some of the county officials per-
sist in working under laws which
have been repealed some twenty years
ago. These old laws gave the county
a larger percentage than the present.
ones. Although the blanks sent Out
to be filled when reports are made
contain printed in plain letters the
sections of the present laws under
which the county officials should work
they are still ignored and the old sy:s
TEN of percentages remains in use
These old laws give the State the
small end and while obsolete, ar
stillopopular.
In several counties there was liz
printed tax list to go by, as the low
rate allowed by law left the printer
no margin of profit and printer award
ed the contract to print the tax rol
declined to do the work at loss.
In no instance was anything fount
which indicated dishonesty on the par
of any county official. Wherever cou
ties were found working under law
which had been repealed, the erro
was shown and the officials agree
to work in future under the presen
laws.
Z The whole matter summed up, sno"
very plainly that the present compt1
Gated system of county settlement
with the State is antlquated and unsa'
isfactory to the last degree and shoui
be supplanted by the system now L
vogue in Oregon and Idaho, where tn
State figures the amount due from tn
various counties and notifies them :
pay in a lump sum.
1t saves all complications and tho'
sands of pages Of useless book kee'
ing. Under that system the countle
are never in arrears and everything
simplified to minimum.
There are several more counties IN IN
western part of the State which WI
he visited during the present month.
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