Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1912-09-27
TAXATION IN MINNESOTA
THE LOCAL. ASSESSOR AND HIS
ASSESSMENT - THIRTY e
i
FIFTH ARTICLE !

In preceding articles something has
already been said as to the difficulty
Of securing a fair valuation arising
from the inefficient work of manv of
the local assessors. This inefficiency is
the product Of many differing causes,
viz:
1st. The usual compensation by law
allowed an assessor, So per day, is al
together inadequate. Out of this mearer
stipend he is required to pay his travel
ing and other expenses. This practically
leaves him without any, or at best, 4
very small compensation for his time
and services. 1t compels him to tsrush''
his work, and to do it in the easiest
and quickest way possible. Yet the a.
SCISSOR is the most important local Of
ficial who has anything to do with our
taxing system. He should be man of
sound judgment, familiar with the
character and value of the various
kinds Of property he is to assess. He
should not be dependent for his office
upon the votes Of those whose property
he is to value. He should have the
moral courage to resist all importantly
and avoid all prejudice. He should b6
free from all partisanship, favoritism,
and vindictiveness. In short, he should
be the broadest minded, fairest and
best man in the district. The services
Of such men cannot be secured for tho
unalluring compensation Of So per day,
less expenses.
End. Even where the assessor 10
competent and honest, and there are
many such, he is confronted with en-
barrassing circumstances which initiate
against good assessment. His thank.
less duty is to pry into the affairs Of
his friends and neighbors; to force
them to list all their property, and to
see that it is fairly valued. During tho
assessment season f'his hand is against
every man, and every mans hand is
againt him.
3rd. AS a general rule assessors arc
timid and conservative; they are con-
servative because they are timid. Iu-
stead of making new and thorough
valuation each year they are prone to
adopt and copy the valuations Of the
preceding year. It is much easier to re-
main stagnant than it is to progress.
Generally the assessor considers his
work we'll done if his assessment is
"about the same as last year
4th. The same conservatism coz
trolls his method of assessing property,
particularly personally. A listing blank
is given to the taxpayer to be by him
filled out and returned to the assessor
The law contemplates that the owner
shall list the different articles Of prop-
erty owned by him, and that tho as
SCISSOR shall determine it's value. The
owner merely furnishes the inventory,
and the assessor fixes the valuation. But
during all of the "a years Of our state
hood it has become the usual and al
most universal custom for the owner
of taxable personal property not only
to furnish an inventory of such prop
erty, but to also fix the assessed value
thereof, and this valuation the assessor
accepts and copies into his books. The
effect of this is that each taxpayer
practically makes his own assessment;
in other words, determines for himself
the amount he will contribute to tho
support Of the government under which
he lives.
Such are some of the many defects
which our half century's experience
has shown to be inherent in our local
assessorship system. So flagrant and
serious are they that it is self-evident
that some other method of making the
initial assessment must. be devised be-
fore such assessment will cease to be
bowling farce.