Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1912-07-11

county and the city of Nashvill
will receive all told 1888
) $390.50, or about 400 per cent, o
: the original tax, including eour
! costs, fees, commissions, etc, vii
go into the pockets of the reve
: nue. agents. In Maury county, S,
far the records have been exam
ined, in 265 cases in which suit
were filed, if the matter goes II
judgment the total amount will
be $4,219.07. Out of this the orig
inal tax due Maury county i,
$480.95, and that due the state i,
$224.03, or a total for both county
and state of $684.9S, leaving fol-
the revenue agents, fees, commits
sionS, court costs, etc, incident tC
the collection of this sum, il
round numbers $4,000, over SOC
per cent of the original tax.
These are but samples of the
workings of this law in various
counties, and what is true of these
three is more or less true of every
other county in the state. Some
of the individual cases are as fol-
lows: The most favorable one so
far discovered is in Davidson
county. Mrs. Rose Holine of that
county owed $3.50. When the rev.
enue agent added his fee, commits
slons and court costs it was 1884,
equal to about $50 per cent of the
original tax, yet this burden was
so great that even a back tax at
torney ought to be ashamed to
take the money.
Walter Alexander and wife of
Davidson county owed 40 cents,
yet it cost 1900 per cent to col
lect this sum.
IN Maury county S. Kennedy
owed both the state and county "A
cents, yet it cost 400 per cent to
collect the original tax. Hamp
Lawrence and j. D. Moss, both Of
the same county, each owed in
original taxes 40 cents, but it cost
each of them $500 per cent, or
1921 for the collection to be
made.
Berry Davis owed rs cents, but
it cost him 400 per cent to col
lect same.
Mrs. Elem Rankin and Jim
Jones, both'of Maury county, were
respectively indebted to the state
and county 26 cents and 81 cents.
Mrs. Rankin's bill amounted to
1913, over $500 per cent of the
tax, and Jim Jones' bill, |
though he owed but / cent more,
amounted to $11.35, over A 500 per
cent of the Original tax. You will
observe that it cost Jim Jones
$2.17 for the state and county to
collect the additional / cent.
The act referred to is among the
public acts passed by the last leg
stature, and / am willing to leave
it to you to say if it should not be
conspicuous among the private
acts. The cases that have been
,ited are not exceptional ones.
There are hundreds throughout
he state equally as bad. The last
clause of this law is in the follow
ng language: "Be it further en-
lcted, that this act take effect
rom and after its passage, the
public welfare requiring it." The
lct further shows that it was ap-
proved on the 10Th day of April,
911, by Gov. Ben w. Hooper.
1t has been asserted that the s
otal delinquent revenue due to
he state and counties, not barred !
" the statute of limitations, is
i 100000, and this vast sum has I
'een Haunted in the face of the i
'eople of this state as another rea- S
on why the back tax fraternity t
hould be continued. There is no {
7ay Of telling, but / will venture j
he assertion that one-half if not /
of this great sum is due '
0 erroneous assessments, not de- s
taxes at all, and that at t
east ninety per cent Of the re- i
could be collected t
trough the regular channels if t
few simple remedies were APP r
lied. 10
First-Require the transfer tax t
n deeds to be paid to the tax as /
essor instead of to the county u
ourt clerk, in order that the b
mango in ownership could be
oted, thus preventing many erro- p