Williams news., 1906-02-24
AUDITOR PAGE
 ON MINE TAX
Useful Information from Supreme Court
 Decision

lerrlCOrlal AuulLOT JOIln n. rage | has had printed sixteen page pamphlet containing the decision of the territorial supreme court in the now famous "mine tax cases." Following the decision Auditor Page says:
 This opinion holds that it is the duty of the boards of supervisors of the various counties to add to and carry out upon the assessment rolls the changes made in the assess ments by the territorial board of equalization and to compute and carry out in the proper column the territorial tax at the rate fixed by the territorial board.
 The supreme court in these opin- ions lays down the following rules:
 1. That the territorial board of equalization may raise or lower, SO far as regards the territorial tax, and in so doing may as an incident ] of equalization, raise the aggregate valuation of all the counties as re-
 turned by the assessors and county boards, but must not in any in- stance diminish the aggregate.
 2. That it is the duty of the boards of supervisors of the various counties to extend upon the assess
 ment rolls the changes and in- creased assessments ordered by the territorial board. Also to compute and carry out in the proper column
 the territorial tax at the rate fixed
 by said territorial board.
 8. That the territorial board can
 requre additional classes or sub- classes of property to be returned and to raise or lower the valuations of such additional or sub-classes.
 From the foregoing it will be seen
 that whenever patented mines or any other class of property shall be
 returned at such valuation as does
 not, in the judgment of the territo-
 rial board, bear just relation or
 proportion to the valuations of all
 other property the board has the power and it is it's duty to raise the valuations of such classes as may
 be undervalued to an equality with other classes of property. It will ! also be noted that the court lays stress upon the principle that the . cash value of any property is the standard by which assessments
 should be made. and that uniform ity in fixing the valuations of all kinds and classes of property with , reference to it's cash value, is the
 principal object of assessment.
 It is of the utmost importance
 that these rules laid down by the court be strictly adhered to. Most of the gross inequality that has heretofore prevailed will be obvia- ted and the difficulties of equaliza- 5 tion, as we'll on the part of county boards as of the territorial board, will be greatly simplified. The duty :, of proper assessment devolves pri- marily upon the assessor. In case
 he fails in his duty the county board of equalization is required to s correct the inequalities. In case 8 both of these agencies should fail to adequately assess any kind of
 class of property, or the property , of the owners of a certain class oi ' property, it then becomes the duty $ of the territorial board to equalize, as far as it may, by dealing with n the entire class of property in which : the unequal assessment may have
 occurred. While this will in a d measure rectify the evil, it may be
 attended by some inequality, in 0 that some property owners in the 0 class mentioned may have been as-
 sessed at fair and just valuation O But inasmuch as the territorial o board can only deal with classes ol nronarfu and not with individ a