The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-07-25
THE new TAxLAW
Something About Its workings
and Showing
Remarkable and Startling Dis
cOveries Taxable Property.
LOW TAXES LIKELY.
Certain People and Firms Pay
90 Times Old Payments.
The New Law Sure to Prove TO
Be on Right Line.

individuals and counties covering tie
recently completed Kansas assessment
of 1908. 1t became more and more ap
parent that the legislature OF 1871 ac'eu
wisely in making provisions Tor the en-
forcement of the law OF assessment .. ai.u
taxation, which in very many leep
had been, until the present year, al
,,ost q dead letter" since it's enact
ment in 1876 .o,,,,+,
Reports published in many county
seat newspapers of the results con- IN
piled by the county assessors llolh Iii III
returns of the deputy assessors, an
tend TO show that in the assessment
of 1908. property has been placed upon
+be rolls at its cash value as required
by the statutes. 1t has peen coliiinno. .1,,,
knowledge for years, that properly ~a'
being very much undervalued lor pui
noses of taxation The average ratio
Of assessed to true value in the slale
as whole has been for years pas
nrohablv from Is per cent to Zo per
cent. The total equanzed "a asSeSseu Seo
value in 1907 was about $43o, ,oooOoo.
From the before mentioned reports,
there is a promise that the assessiiene
of 1908 will be increased from 4oo pel
cent to 500 per cent more tuan .o.aI
assessment of 1907, and that the Iola
assessment for l9Oo Will pe
about $2,250, 100000.
A Splendid Showing.
State
sniendid showing of the wealth or the
state will be highly satisfactory TO the
citizens of Kansas. The Justice OF
law which demands that all properly
according to It's value shall pear its
nronortionate share Of the burden OF
taxation must De dppdiehS ~
minded men.
While the result of the law in plac-
ing property upon the rolls at cash
value is commented upon favoraoly IN
general, yet occasionally un1aVordole
criticisms are heard, and it is propos-
ed here to notice briefly some OF these
CRITICISMS which to the writer appear
10 be not well made. because proceed
ing from mistaken conceptions.
The question being important. mucn
mains have been taken TO procure od'o
bearing upon the subject.
n shouid be promised that the So
called "new tax law is in fact not
new, except in one or two features, ou,
has been upon the statute books prac-
tically unchanged since 1876. The law
has always required the assessment OF
All property in the state at its fuii
market value but taxpayers and as
sessing officers have alike eVaded tne
law. even to the extent 1t is to be re-
gretted of many times practicaliy max
ing false statements under oath
The standard of assessment provided
by the law has been entirely ignored
in the past and each assessor mas SUD
stituted such a standard as TO MN
seemed desirable.
The Old, Ubiquitous System.
For a quarter of a century the sys-
tenn of assessment in Kansas has been
condemned because or many serious
defects too numerous to mention mere,
but largely because of it's resulting in
equalities. The high rate of taxation
caused by the very low value OF pro-
perty has been Objectionable as 1t OFT
times proved a deterrent to would be
investors and settlers in the state.
The demand for a reform In assess
ment and taxation laws was not plo-
neer movement by Kansas. Several
states had previously taken up the
question and appointed tax commits
sions, some of them as permanent state
departments and others as temporary
bodies for the purpose of investigating
and reporting to the legislature needed
changes in the tax laws.
previous to the creation of the
Kansas tax commission, there were
tax commissions or commissioners in
>each of the following states; Ala
'nama, Connecticut, Indiana, Maine,
New Jersey, North Carolina, New
York, Tennessee, West Virginia, YER
mont and Wisconsin, and these were
exclusive of legislative or similar COM
missions for the revision of the reve-
nue. laws. New York had tax COM
mission as earl yas 1871.
A Busy Commission.
One criticism noted was to the ef-
feet, that the members thereof having
but little to do, the maintenance of tax
To those living at Topeak and to those
visitors to the capitol who have been
interested in the question, it must have
been apparent that the members of
the Kansas tax commission hold no
sinecure, but that on the other hand,
ever since they assumed the duties of
the office, they have been busily and
laboriously engaged in the discharge of
the duties of an office which involves
great responsibility. It should be re-
membered that the commission is
iteslf charged with the assessment of
property which amounts to nearly
$400, 900, and that as a state board
of equalization, it must equalize the,|
assessments for the whole state.
Reference has been made TO the
appropriation of $4,000 for the MAIN
tenance of the commission. This COW
ers a period of two years, or $4,000
annually, and in the last amount is in
cluded the annual compensation of the
commissioners and their half a dozen
or more clerks and it should be noted
that this clerical work has been i'm
peratively required, and il not per-
formed in the office of the tax COM
mission, would have been done of
necessity in some other office. In
vestigation Sdiscloses the fact that not
all of the appropriation will be ex-
pended.
The pay of the Kansas commission
ers is $2.500; of the Wisconsin COM
-pissioners $1,000 per year. The
commissioners were allowed
$4,000 in one year as expense in
valuing the railroad property of the
state. Certainly it can not be said that
Kansas is extravagant along this line.
Is 1t not an unwarranted assump-
ton to say-as has been said-in ad-
vance of results soon to be summar-
tzed. that under the assessment of
1908 the burden of taxation will be