The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1910-05-20
FELsON ON TAXATION

Auditor w. w. Felson of this county
read a paper at the meeting of the
auditors of the state last week at
Grand Forks which was of particular
interest to the body of men whom he
was addr essing as we'll as the general
public.
After critici sing the Jaw which gov
erns the certificate of stakes paid'' on
real estate transfer instruments, he
pointed out that during the months of
December, January and February, the
auditor places a certificate of ''taxes
paid" on such instruments when as
matter of fact the taxes may not be
paid for the current year; the certif-
cate referring to delinquent taxes only.
AS Mr.. Felson said, this is confusing to
the parties at interest as few people
know exactly the difference between
taxes due and taxes delinquent.
He also suggested that the agricul-
tural statistics which are now taken
by the assessors would probably be
more reliable If the statements made
by the people as to acreage, crop etc.
were kept secret for sixty or ninety
days, much in the same manner as the
U. S. census matters are kept secret
Another matter, of considerable i'm.
portance and which ought to be
changed by the next legislature is the
fact that penalty and interest on drain
assessments, and interest occruing
from sinking funds of the various drains
all go to the county general fund in
stead of to the respective drains and
for the benefit of the taxpayers therein
particularly interested. The following
are the criticisms of Mr.. Felson on this
matter:-
ANENT SPECIAL ASSESSMENT.
"Regarding penalty and interest
collected on special assessments: Under
the statutes now in vogue in this state
all such penalty and interest goes into
the general fund of the county. Or in
other words, the county as whole
gets financial benefit out of every
ditch or other public improvement
constructed under the special assess
ment plan. To my notion this is wrong.
1 believe that each county gets enough
general benefit out of such improve
ments without charging the benefciar-
les cash bonus for doing such work.
All such work should be encouraged
and done with the least possible cost
to the benefclaries. During the last
few years Pembina county has con-
structed several bitches and to show
you what financial benefit the county
derived from the construction of such
bitches am going to quote you few
facts and figures. In 1905 the county
general fund received $738.0O from
penalty and interest collected on S9,023.-
90 worth of special assessment paid
into the county treasury by ditch BEN
eficiaries; in 1905 81, ,259. 90 on l3,l68.OO;
in 1907, $4,000 on ss,4sS, 90; in 1905
s577.OO on s5, 308.OO; in 1909, e513.OC on
S5,O16.OU, in all during the five years
just mentioned over $4,000 was
charged benetciaries without one iotaI
of benefit to the bitches. In almost,
every case about ten per cent of the
amount of delinquent assessment was
collected. Furthermore, these figures
do not include the interest received by
the county on account of the deposit
of drain funds in county depositaries.
One drain alone enriched the county
general fund 81, 1,289.A from penalty
and interest collected on delinquent
ditch assessments and the further sum
of $4,000 on account Of one year
time deposit for portion of the ditch
funds and will this year at a further
sum Of ss50.0O to the county general
fund on account of a time deposit Of
portion Of the drains fnnd.
AN$ADD1TIoNALc CHARGE l
"Is it right that the county q !
whole should charge these ditch benel
ficiaries these additional sums foF con-
[structing ditohess Furthermore. every
time d special assessment paymspt i
delayed Or l. not paid until II sopspss
delinquent, eaeh and every BEN laipty