The San Francisco call., 1910-10-29
REAL ESTATE TAX
Will BE Lowered
constitutional Amendment No.
! Will Tend TO Make Other
Interests Pay Share

The Associated realty boards of Cal
ifornia have prepared statement re-
lating TO the effect of constitutional
amendment No. !. II adopted. upon real
estate interests. which is as follows:
Taking the three great city coun-
ties Alameda, Los Angeles and San
francisco, we find that the saving in
the cities is about L cents in tax rate.
This may be assumed to represent
about the average In the different
cioes and the amount by which the
cities are overtaxed at the present
time The cities. although they share
n the gain TO the counties, have TO
make good for the withdrawal of city
taxes on the corporations. The coun-
ties therefore fare a little better than
ne cities. Taking the "a counties that
are mainly agricultural, the saving in
taxes under the constitutional amend
ment No ] Will be an average of 20
cents per 500 Of assessed valuation.
IF we select any Of the counties that
are given over mainly to agricultural
or 10 horticulture, We can see how the
new plan VIII afford this relief. We
may take Santa Clara. because it is
large and rich and not. like some of
the poorer counties. burdened by an
lpordinately high tax rate In 1909
The total assessment of the county was
'Sl2,002,4s0 (only per cent OF this, by
q. the way, was personal property. OF
this S3,99O.5o4 was property that would
ne Withdrawn from county taxation
by the amendment
The in :
have saved the state tax on S6s,0119se
or S247,563.e2 less s524s0. which was
all that the corporations paid into the
county funds, leaving clear gain of
Sls4.973-59. Stated in another way.
the people of this county could have
raised the money they did raise for
:loc3l purpose with a tax rate 2S.6 cents
lower than they paid IN that year.
When we consider that this was
the saving in q year when the state
tax rate was the lowest on record up
20 that time and remember that the
state tax rate is normally so cents, ii
is clear that both for the present and
in the long ran the amendment viii
afford the relief to which the farmers
are entitled.
AS 10 California, every one in the
least familiar with the actual work
lngs Of the tax system knows that
there are glaring Inequalities between
.sry. between county and county. Last
year the state board Of equalization
rs ised the valuations of no less than
is counties by amounts ranging from
10 to 100 per cent. Even while doing
This the board declared that it was
beyond its powers to apply any really
effective remedy to the known Unequal
fties that exist
Eighty per cent and over of the
taxes fail on real estate alone. The
farmer. whose property is largely real
estate and most of whose other prop
erty is visible and easily found, pays
far more than his just proportion.
Puhfic service corporations are gen.
orally undertaxed. although there are
some very notable exceptions. Banks,
except the savings banks, can not be
actually compelled to pay any taxes:
what they do pay is nearly as much
a free gift as their contributions to
public festivals. Franchises and many
valuable privileges evade taxation.
corporstfon by the simple device of
changing the record OF it's principal
place OF business can evade taxation
on its franchise altogether.
Last but not least, revenues that
belong by right to the state at large,
are seized by certain localities ad-
located elsewhere is taxed to make
good this loss. One county alone is
drawing from the state treasury over
$500. 600 per annum more than it pays
5n. Yet all the counties are supposed
10 contribute TO the support OF the
state institutions.
There are other evils. but these
alone are sufficiently serious TO be the
cause for deep concern"