Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1909-12-10
County Assessor Speaks of Diff
ficulty of Assessing State on
A Straight Cash Basis
STATE COMMISSION NEEDED
With Power and Time to Adjust Values
of Agricultural, Timber and Mineral
Lands Over the Entire State

The writer interviewed County As
SCISSOR, M. M. Mackey, the first of the
week regarding the assessing of property
on a cash basis in accordance with the
recent decision of the Supreme court
AS no notes were taken at the time
the substance of the interview will be
given without regard to the exact
language used.
The law itself requiring assessments
to be made on cash basis is most
desirable one but like many other laws
there are no effective means provided
for its enforcement. The recent Su-
preme court decision does not change
the situation because he means of en-
forcement are not strengthened.
AS matter of course the lower the
assessed valuation in a county or COM
lmunity the higher must be the rate OF
taxation in order to raise the necessary
revenue. By agreementsof the asses
;sors of the state, property in Idaho is
assessed on a valuation of 40 per cent
of cash value, hence the rate of taxa
tion is more than double what it would
be under system of cash assessments.
This condition of affairs makes bad
showing to the financial interests of
other states where similar conditions
do not exist. Outside capital hesitates
20 invest where the rate of taxation
looks so high and real estate investors
are skeptical concerning the real value
of land when the assessed valuation is
so much lower.
There are several reasons why cash
valuations are impossible under the
present law. Let the % assessors of
the state meet in convention and decide
on full cash valuations. They go home
and every one of them knows that
some of their number will not stand by
the agreement in good faith. The
local interests in each county will
naturally want low valuation and
they will fear the effect of change in
the system of valuation.
Suppose a part of those assessors
stand by the cash standard and part
go below it. In that case the taxpayers |
of the cash counties will have to pay |
much more than their share of state |
taxes because the state board of equali- |
zation can only raise valuations Is per
cent.
Again take the upper Snake river
valley where the land lies perfectly
level and all equally fertile. Let US
say that the St. Anthony assessor sets
a certain valuation on farm lands un-
der these conditions. His valuation
on farm lands under these con-
ditions would be altogether too
high for a farm in Lincoln county
where half of it lies beyond the rim
rock and is valueless except for pasture.
In the northern part of the state are
timber lands having an intrinsic value
out of all proportion 10 farm lands in
other sections, and in other parts of
the state are mineral lands.
The state board of equalization has
no means of knowing the actual value
of farming lands in various portions of
the state to say nothing of the timber
and mineral lands.
What is needed is state tax com
mission composed of three men with a
tenure of office Of six years for it will {
require that length Of time to intelli- {
gently place the property of the state (
on g cash assessment basis and give
even and exact justice to all sections I
and to all classes of property. 8
Let one of the commission investi- t
9ate farm property, another mineral
property and the third, timber lands.
Acting as full board they could assess
railroad and other corporate property. S
From the above it will be readily C
seen that Mr.. Mackey knows what he ii
is talking about; that he approaches
the subject from a practical standpoint t
and that his opinions are entitled to n
great weight.