The Owyhee nugget. ([Silver City], Idaho) 1905-1984, 1911-06-15
The Scramble For
Low Assessments

The following article by Hon. Dow
Bunning, representative to the Idaho
state Legislature from Owyhee county,
treats Of the tax valuation problem that
is agitlting the minds Of the people
Of Idaho. MIR. Dunnlng is one Of
the foremost students Of political econ
omy in the United States and has given
the subject Of taxation much thought
and deep study. He shows up the per-
tidy and double dealing policy adopted
by State Auditor s. D. Taylor and
others in way that admits Of no dis
pnte. Every taxpayer should read this
carefully and give the subject an I'M
biased Investigation. Ed.
Every year each county in Idaho is
compelled to pay into the state treasury
a certain amount Of money as its pro-
portion Of the revenue necessary for the
maintenance of the state government.
This proportion, that each county must
pay toward the support Of the state, is
determined by the state board of equal
ization in accordance with the law as
laid down in Sec. 17I6 Revised Codes
Of Idaho, to-wt:
1.-THE State Board Of Equalization
shall determine the amount Of the state
tax which each county must pay to the
state, by apportioning the aggregate
tax among the several counties Of the
state in the exact proportion that the
assessed valuation Of each county bears
to the assessed valuation Of all the
counties Of the state
Now under this rule Of apportioning
the states revenue against the counties,
il is very evident that a low assessment
in any county enables that county to
escape its just share Of the states ex-
penditures.
This fact has led to wild scramble
among the assessors OF the state for
low valuation Of all property, and the
people themselves, knowing that the
assessors Of all the other counties are
doing the same thing, are naturally in
sympathy with the local assessors ef-
forts. So strenuous has been this com.
petition for low valuations that the as
sessed valuation Of property in all OF
idaho is only twenty and six-tenths
per cent Of its actual value as given in
the U. s. census report in the volume
entitled Wealth, Debt and Taxation.
Sec. ? Of Art. VII Of our state consti
tuition says: Every person or corpo.
ration shall pay a tax in proportion to \
the value Of his, her, or its property"
Sec. 1646 Of the Revised Codes says.
Value" and full cash value" means
the amount at which the property
would b. taken in payment of
just debt due from solvent debtor.
Sec. 1852 reads: call taxable proper
ty must be assessed at its full cash val
ne" Sec. 1927 provides that the as
SCISSOR and his deputies shall certify
under oath that they have listed and
assessed all property in the county
equally and uniformly according to the
best Of their Judgment, information
and belief, at its full cash value"
| believe that have made clear the
letter and intent Of the law and consti-
tuition, and the true cause Of their VIC.
lation ny the assessors of the state.
Many inequalities among individuals
and great disadvantages to the state
have been caused by this reckless dis
regard Of the plain intent Of the law
and constitution. Not only is the bur
den of state expenditures inequitably
distributed among the counties, because
some assessors fix higher valuations
than others, but whenever the assessor
can fix values arbitrarily, without re-
gard to actual cash value, he can favor
friends and political adherents. punish
his political opponents, and by dis
eliminating IN favor of those having
political influence, make himself solid
for the coming election. And in addi-
ton 10 all this still greater inequality