The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1910-11-24
SUPREME COURT GIVES
TAX COMMISSION AUTHORITY.

Rendering Judgment last week up
| holding the state tax commission in its
action in appointing three persons to
review the assessment and equalization
made by the assessor and board Of re-
view of the town of Iron River in Bay
| field county, the supreme court read
into the law of Wisconsin a precedent.
The officials of the town of Iron
River, it appears from the statement
of the case, refused to recognize the
authority of the state tax commission
and the town clerk refused to make
out a tax roll on the basis of the as
sessment and equalization made by the
agents of the commission, who, by the
! Iron River An alternative writ of
mandamus was sued out requiring the
clerk to make the tax roll on the basis
of that assessment and to show cause
why he should not do so. The town
clerk justified his refusal on the ground
that the law, chapter 259 Of the laws
of 1908, was unconstitutional because
the assessment and equalization made
under it was made 10y persons who were
not elected by the voters of the town
and therefore acted in contrayention
of that portion of the constitution
which provides that "all city, town and
village officers whose election or APP
pointment is not provided for by this
constitution shall be elected by the
electors of the town, village, city,"
etc.
Justice Barnes, writing the opinion
says: ut must be remembered that so
long as the local officers obey the laws
of the state, they are not meddled with
and their functions are in ne way cur
tailed, and it is only when they violate
the law, which they are bound to obey,
that the state undertakes to interfere. >"
Justice Barnes further points out
that the state has a vital interest in
insisting that its laws pertaining to
taxation be honestly and fairly admin
istered to the end that the burden OF
taxation be equitably distributed.
"TaXes, says Justic Barnes, are OF
three general kinds, state, county and
local, While the state and the county
may fix a valuation of the taxable pro-
perty in the smaller political units in
their boundaries different from that
found by the local authorities, still, III
practice the local assessment may be a
strong factor in fixing such valuation.
In order to make an equal
distribution of county and state taxes,
it is essential that all taxable property
that can be discovered be placed upon
the tax rolls and that uniform basis
for valuation be adopted and adhered
to-"
Justice Barnes also calls attention
to one of the gross evils of the taxing
system when he points out that so long
as the practice prevails of assessing
| pIOpcIlA III inherent lOCdlllItS 1T
figures varying from p to 100 per cent
or more of its value, so long are we
liable to have gross inequalities in the
distribution of the tax burden. $50
the state" he says, ''in endeavoring to
enforce the requirements of the law in
regard to the assessment and equaliZa-
tion Of property isnot acting as a mere
interloper exercising paternalistic
function for the purpose of exploiting
its rights so to do, but is attempting
in good faith to perform a duty in
which its citizens have something
more than a passing interest,"
And finally the court says that eve
have no hesitancy in holding that
whenever local assessors and boards Of
review actin disregard of the statutory
duties enjoined upon them the state
has the power to provide for the ap-
pointment of outside agencies to exc
cute the law which is being ignorant
ly or wantonly violated or willlully set
at defiance"