Morris tribune., 1912-09-13
LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS.
To Amend Assessment Laws to
be Strictly Enforced.
THIRTY THIRD ARTICLE.

SHOW LudG IL property was assessed
at it's true and full value in money
as provided by law, without first
amending several inconsistent statutes,
the result would be a great and need
less increase in taxes; an uncalled for
increase in the salaries of several
hundred county officials and their
clerks. and, in all probability. in a
great increase in municipal indebted
ness.
Justice in taxation can only be at
tanned by strict compliance with
the law. This is proven by universal
experience. There is no other way.
With rare exceptions, when an assess
or violates the law and sets up a
standard of his own he either infiicts
an injury upon some individual tax
payer or else he does injustice to
every other taxpayer in the state.
AS a general rule every step he takes
outside the straight and narrow path
provided by law leads to greater and
more glaring inequalities. and in
many cases if he gets too far away
his work degenerates, as we have
said before. into a mere travesty on
justice.
Because of the lack of harmony in
the laws witch we have pointed out
taxpayers in Minnesota, to use an apt
expression, are placed squarely "be-
tween the devil and the deep sea. :"
If the law was strictly enforced, every
one cf them would be mulcted with
needless taxes, and because it is not
so enforced injustice is annually in
ficted upon large ma jority of them.
Realizing that just and equitable
assessment of property in this state
was practically impossible unless and
until these contradictory laws were
amended and harmonized, the tax
commission in 1909 placed before the
legislature all of the facts bearing
upon the matter and asked that the
assessment laws be so amended that
they could be strictly enforced with
out unnecessarily increasing taxes
and without injustice to anybody.
Several conferences were held with
members of the committees on taxes
an tax laws of the house and senate
and the whole matter thoroughly can
vassed and the conclusion finally
reached that it would be better, all
things considered, to amend the law
to onform to long established custom
than it would be to undertake to en-
force an assessment at true and full
value A bill was accordingly drawn
providing among other things that,
"except as may be otherwise provided
by law all property subject to a gen:
eral property tax shall be valued at its
true and full value in money, which
shall be entered opposite each item
on the assessment rolls, and shall
be assessed at fifty per cent of such
true and full value. Such assessed
value shall in all cases be taken and
considered to be the value of such pro-
perty for purposes of taxation. and
shall be the value upon which the
tax levy shall be made"
The bill was introduced in the house
by the chairman of the committee on
taxes and tax laws, and after the
adoption of an amendment changing
the basis of assessment from fifty per
cent of true value to forty per cent it
passed that body and was transmitted
to the senate where, after a brief
debate. it was indefinitely post
poned."
The failure of bill to pass was due
not so much to hostility to the prin-
ciple involved as it was to the inabil-
ity of the members to agree upon
the per cent of true value at which
the assessment should be made. A
plurality but not majority of the
members favored the fifty per cent
basis provided in the bill as intro
duced. Some favored thirty per cent,
others forty, others forty-five. and
others sixty; and in the house one
member offered an amendment provid-
ing that property containing iron ore
should be assessed at sixty per cent
of its true value, city property at
fifty per cent and farm property at
forty per cent. Out of this multi
plicity of views it seemed impossible
to reach common ground. The bill
land at the end of the session, in
the legislative ash heap where it
slumbered until the following session.
But the legislature recognizing the
urgency of the matter, and feeling
that something must be done to re-
lieve tha situation. just before it Rd.
journed sine die adopted concurrent