Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-11-24


district loans: For 1903, $500 900 in IN round
numbers; 1904. s37s,000; 1905, S40i 900.
The first item, for common schools, IS IN part
the annual appropriation 70 the common Scnool
fund of an amount equal 10 7-l0 of mill on a
dollar of the assessed value OF the taxable proper
ty of the state, determined by the state BOARD
of assessment, apportIOned as follows:
100000 on license fees, or taxes paid by corpor-
ations and the balance from taY levied on prop
erty. The amounts winch nave gwen you -I Lor
the mill taN is the amount levied on the properly
of the state, and is exclusive of the amount OF
100000 derived from the corporate tax, IN each
The school fund income is apportioned by the
state superintendent among the several towns.
villages and cities, according to the number OF
the agent by which this tax Is certified, levied
and apportioned not one cent IS retained Tor the
support of the state government or the state m
StitutiOns, but the whole Is apportloned ana re-
turned back to the counties, towns cities, villages
and school districts for the purpose OF maintain
ing the common schools. i,
1t is. therefore, In effect, local TAX Ior tue
benefit of the local schools:
The special charges for the support Of inmates
Of charitable and penal institutions are me az
gregate amounts charged back 70 the counties
which are the residences OF the respective IN
mates and are what the county should pay 10
reimburse the state in part Tor the sums palu loT
rhe benet Of the county in supporting its insane,
and other persons in the charitable and penal
| institutions. 1t is the collection OF the sums
properly chargeable as county chaIge all''
should hc paid by the county.
The third and last item for the three years
] is
for special and school district loans ms i te re-
| payment of money borrowed from the trust funds
| of the state by the different municipalities ana
If q county. town, village or school district
! wishes to borrow money for any OF its purposes
the money can be obtained from private partles
or upon certain conditions, from the state, when
trust funds are available 10 be loaned. when
the loan is made from the state trust FUNDS, the
principal and interest when due Is certlheu ana
II IS. however a debt Of the municipality
borrowing the fund.- and the tax levied Tor the re-
payment is purely local in character.
There is no difference when the money Is Dor
rowed from the state so far as repayment Is con-
cerned, from what IL would be II borrowed from a
private party, except that the state certlhes the
amount to the counties. and the counties 70 the
school district, town, city or village Whatever
municipality bOrrows the money
From this bret review II appears tHat SlutiiiS
the last three years no state tax has been leyled
and unless extraordinary expenditures Shal pc
come necessary il may be time before
state tax will again he levied. NJ,
When this situation is fully understood the
incentive TO differentiation by countess, 70
escape their share of state tax, will be removed
There remains no adequate motive Tor IA 1ls
evasion of the law to under-aSSessments. Inc
slight difference Occasoned IN imposing a mlli
tax on the value of property and apportlollhg II
back according to the school population IS TOO
small 10 Justify the attempt. While there Is a
little over one million dollars collected for the
mill tax, so called, being 40 OF mill on the
property of the state, less S2OOOOO Of corporate
taxation, there is distributed back TO the coun-
ties towns and school districts S4UUuOU HlOIe
than is collected; that nearly 81 the counties
| receive more, quite large amount more imam
they pay"
The next Daper presented was from IFon. w. G.
Bruce tax commissioner Of the city OF milwaukee,.
MIR Bruce returned from extended European
tour of investigation along taXatIon lines. lie
income tax This is rapidly becoming one Of the
| foremost questions of the hour, and should en-
gage the attention OF every American citizen VINO
desires A system of taxation that + guided purely
i by equity, justice and honor.
The other papers presented at the meeting
were from Hon. Geo. Curtis, IT., and Nils I. ElaG.
gan and related more especially 70 the duties q
the supervisor of assessments and assessors, also
the best methods of executing the duties OF TIMER
respective office.
! These remarks were delivered from the stand
i point of men who wholly devoted to the
/ duties of their office, and feel unsatisfed with
i legislation that has retarded, or supervisors who
/ have been lax III the discharge 81 their duties
under present conditions and they are using
/ every effort to make as near as possible a
square deal with all.
| Former r. r. Commissioner Hon Nils =.
| Haugan ;and there is probably no person bet
/ ter posted upon railway legislation or corporate
rights has this TO say IN regard 70 under-valua-
ton OF property and It's results upon recent
/ legislation.
| There is a disposition among assessors to
/ favor their own district by general underValua,
ton and this had become such hXed method
/ in MANY counties that when the tax commission
er first entered upon its work OF investigation
| and supervision il found that the ratio OF
local assessments to true value OF rear estate as
estimated by the commission varied from ~
| per cent. in the lowest to 81 per cent. in the
/ highest county. The personal property cor
| responded probably to this general underValu-
alton, but was more difficult Of ascertalnment.
/ Added Importance is given 70 the requirements
/ of better local assessments through the changed
methods of assessing railroads and other cor
| porate properties. he tax rate TO be apphed
i TO the property of these corporations is the
| average rate in the state, ascertained by dlVld-
/ ing the aggregate OF state, county and local
/ taxes levied upon the general property OF the
state, by the true value OF such property as
i fixed BY the tax commission. wlltul omission
/ of property materially affecting the amount
used "a a dvisor might invalldate the tax as TO
/ these corporations and bankrupt the state
treasury, as the main source OF revenue TO the
state is this tax.
! State and county assessments. as equalized
bv the State Tax Commission, the total valu-
alton of all assessed property IN Wisconsin Tor
for Grant County in this assessment il SD, $685.
1876 OF this $50 115, l 50 is real estate and
an increase of S2.9l9,099 over last year. It's
i value has increased a trltie faster than the
average OF the state.
We're it not from the foregoing remarks on
the apportonment q taxes by state authority
! some might think especially advocates of low
valuatOnl that the State Tax Commission
were wild in their estimation Of the value Of
/ Grant County but such IS not the case. From
| evidence received from Madison, larger
amount of state tax will be RENTED this year
On the 9th of April called meeting Of the
Assessors of Grant County for instruction aud
conference, in regard to the assessment of prop
erty, both real and personal. All subjects relat-
| ing thereto were fully discussed. Every one
present appeared to be very much interested
/ and my highest aim TO impress upon them
| the necessity of their duty a. required by the
! assessment laws.
! This report will show in detail the value of q
complete list of properties as estimated by me,
| and the values of the same pieces of property as
| fixed by the several assessors in the respective
| assessment districts.
! The value fixed by me has not been determined
/ by actual sales in many instances; and in such
cases the consideration was verified by other
information than that found III the recorded in
/ strument.
/ The values fixed at the true value contemplate
| ed by the law, are intended to be safe and con
| sentative. The number of pieces taken in each
| assessment district Is as large as could we'll be
/ made in the time that could be spared for this
branch of the duties of the office. and could be
! examined with the required care. The number
/ of pieces is thought 70 be sufficiently large 20
| constitute a fair and safe basis of valuation in
| each assessment district. In the cities where
/ much larger where a much larger number of
parcels and a graeter variety in the character
| of the property is found, a much larger num-