Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1912-12-16

large areas OF taxable land are hel'
for speculative purposes by persons
and corporations whose disposition
it is, in most cases, either to make M
return whatever of such lands, or tC
return them at a cash value so far be
low their actual value that the assess
ments would be ridiculous if it were
not for the nearly criminal inequality
! which results and the injustice done
to the small land holder, especially
the farmer. and home owner.
We can trace the seat Of the trouble
to the power placed in The assessors
Office and in the board Of county com
missiOners. The average assessor is
presumably anxious to do his duty,
but in view OF the fact that his office
is purely political and that he owes
his Office to that doubtful source, and
that in general he has no cooperation
from the tax payer himself. it is prac-
tically impossible 10 obtain proper ad-
minstratiOn of that office The as
SCISSOR under our laws is Il quasi judi
Cial officer, whose duty it is to judge
of the correctness of the values re-
turned 10 him with power to raise
such assessments where they are too
low. 1t is true that the board of cOun-
ty commissioners sitting as loard
Of equalization. has power to raise
such assessments. but that body also
owes its election to political sources
and is usually equally handicapped
with the assessor. Our state board of
equalization, under the constitution is
composed of state officials whose
duties in other respects are arduous
and take uD most OF their available
time. The board thus composed was
evidently intended to be a purely par
tisan board as Indicated by the fact
that the membership Of the constitu
tiOnaI convention. which framed the
constitution, was made up of repuh-
licans. and the constitution was in
reality written by that political party
which was then. and no doubt later
expected to be. the dominant party in
the election Il year ago in November.
Notwithstanding the intent Of the
constitution makers, the board is now
composed Of three democrats and two
republicans, which makes it a non
partisan board in effect. However,
there is no power vested in the board
to go behind the local assessors re-
turns and therefore it cannot deter
mine for itself as to whether taxable
property has been omitted and as to
erty by the local assessor is far be-
low the proper and just value in pro-
portion to the value OF similar prop
erty located elsewhere in the state,
Great land areas in one county might
never be returned and the state board
would be without power TO compel the
entry OF such lands upon the rolls at
a proper valua tion. Thus, one county
may escape its just share of the /
burden of the state levy and there is /
no question but that this situation .
arises annually in some of the coun-
ties. !
Furthermore, the board of equaliZa ,
ton has no data before it. scientifically .
upon which it could base .
its conclusion as to just equalization
as between the counties. AS result.
our board of equalization in practice
does not equalize, and because of the .
provision and the lack
)f effective laws giving it greater
powers, it remains useless creation
)f an antiquated and ineffective sys-
EN-, which pretentious name to