The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1906-2016, 1909-12-19
NEED FOR COUNTY TAX EQUAL
ZERS.


all over south Georgia to devise ways
and means for forcing the tax-dodger
10 place the proper value on his hold
ings and pay taxes thereon. It will
ne recalled that the present grand
jury serving in Glynn county was
charged on this very matter only a
few weeks ago. when 1t was pointed
out by the court that vast sums of
money are kept from the public treas
ury through the antiquated manner in
which the people of Georgia return
their property for taxation. The evil
is growing at an alarming rate and it
is time that grand juries all over
Georgia were looking carefully to the
task OF establishing boards of tax
equalizers in every county in the state.
Discussing the matter. the Valdosta
Times in its issue of Friday says:
THE grand jury sitting in Tiff
| county at the term of superior court
which ended this week. was greatly
| impressed at the under-v valuation of
much of the land returned for taxa
! tiOn this year. The jury took official
cognizance cf the matter in it's pre-
sentiments, making some sweepinaand
important revisions and recommended
lions.
IF our memory serves us right.
Tiff county showed a big slump in
tax values this year, traceable to the
arbitrary action of many of the
! property owners in putting a lower
valuation on their property, aud not
as the result of any actual decrease
! ia values This seems 10 have CALLED
the grand jurors and they go after the
tax dodgers with gloves Off They took
the digest and made a thorough IN
vestigation of all the land returns,
putting opposite each mans return
The figures at which they recommend
the property shall be received by the
tax receiver next year.
1t is understood that about one
I in every four of the taxpayers had
returned his real estate too low--in
many cases very much below its worth
while about one in twenty-five had
placed higher value on his lands
than the jurors thought just. The Tiff
ton Gazette states that while it has
not had an opportunity to figure the
total or net Increase, it believes that
; II the iury's recommendations are car
ried out they will result>in the coun
) tvs tax values showing an increase OF
more than half million dollars next
year.
Tiff is not the only county In
Georgia where the tax dodger work
eth his delight Lowndes has a fair
proportion Of them, as we suppose
every county in the state has, espe-
cially those counties in which there
is no board of equalizers or officials
whose duty IL is to see that all the
property is returned at it's true
J value.
1T Is we'll known fact that in this
county there are MISUNDERSTANDING
thousands-of acres of land return
ed at $l00 an acre, which are worth
| from SIS to $25 an acre, and which
! could not be bought for less This
does not necessarily imply that the
owners are dishonest or want to beat
. the state and county out of their Just
| proportion of the taxes, but that it
has become a fixed custom to return
| property just as low as possible-a
sort of ingrowing habit, as il were.
coming down from the time when the
lands were really worth less than
one fourth what they are today. No
! account has been taken by some of the
land owners of the phenomenal ad-
/ vance of real estate values all through
! south Georgia. especially which has
occurred during the past twenty years
They go right along giving in their
land to the tax receiver at the value
their fathers placed on it,
An honest, active board Of equal
izers who are not afraid to do their
, duty, is what every county in the
state needs. Georgia's tax returns
, would grow two hundred million dol
lars the first year, and the man who
returns his property at fair price
, would not have to bear more than
his just proportion of the burdens
OF taxation"
JtlDGE THOMAS a PApkEQ