Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1912-07-26
TAXATION IN MlNN|f
TWENTY-s1XTH ARFICI,E-EQuAk r.
B: 1ZATIoN BY TIE TAX COZ /,
Observation-Disclosures " ss= !,

Y
The manner of ascertaining the psE-z
centage Of assessed to true value GH
real estate by the "sales method'7
was briefly explained in the preceding
article. ~
The necessary data or informatiun
for the tabulation Of real estate sa2ak
is gathered by representatives Of tho
tax commission. These representa-
tives visit each county Of the state 1aiG
make list of all transfers. of real
estate made by warranty deed during
a given period, usually two years. CsN
is taken to include only such transfe4
as represent bona fide sales, and in
which the consideration stated in fha
deed is the actual amount for which,
the property was sold. Transfers that
give only q nominal consideration, E
that include the exchange Of one pieB
Of property for another, or transfers
between near relatives, such as fathAr
to- son, are not included in the tahM~
lation.
Each transfer listed shows the nanus
of the grantor and grantee, the date
of the conveyance, the consideration,
scription Of the property, and the A.
sessed value of each description as
shown by the last preceding assessment
roll.
The sales are complied and tabulateE
by assessment districts and by counties
separate tabulations are made for city
and village property; and for farn
property, showing in each case the
total number Of sales, the aggregate
amount for which the property w1s
sold, the total assessed value of tha
same and the percentage Of assessed TO-
sales value. This percentage is then
applied to all real estate in the dis
trict or county and becomes the factor
by which its true value is determined.
Let us take Mower county as an L.
lustration. The total number Of trans
fers used in compiling the real estate
sales in this county for the four yeaf
period ending December 81, 1911, wac
1909. Of this number 598 sales cover
ed farm property. The total con-
and village property. The total cor
sideration amounted to $4,781 1865, and
the assessed value in 1910 to 81 ,404, ,37z,
an average Of 29.37 per cent of assess
ed to sales value. The average assess
ed value of the farm property sold wae
found to be 1888 perseent, and of city
and village property 32.10 per cent.
Using these percentages as the factof
the true value of real estate in Mower
county il found to be So, ,6d4, ,032, ~
which amount $27, ,174, ,745 il represen6r
ed in farm property, and s., ,489,2 IN
city and village property.
" The ratio of assessed to sales va1uE
is similarly ascertained in other coun-.
ties, and is used as the factor for de-
termining the true value Of real prop
erty in each county Of the state. These
ratios will be applied to the 1912 as-
sessment as equalized by county boards
of equalization and will in large
measure determine what changes are
necessary to fairly equalize the a.
sessnent as between the different
counties of the state. =
It is the policy'of tax commission TO
notify the county auditor of any con-
templated changes in his county, with
q request that he give the same due
publicity. Ample time is given any in
terested person to file objections, either
personally Or in writing, to the propos-
ed changes. Such objections are fairly
and impartially considered before finaa 7
action. is taken. '>>% '::a'
While the sales method of determGh-
ing true value may not be absolutely
accurate in every instance, it is, as a.
ready state, the best measure Of value
that the commission has been able Is
find. About 250,000 sales have be6as
listed, and as each transfer represents
the Judgment Of two people--Tthe seller
and the buyer-as to the value of =
given piece Of property, the total !safe1
ineluded in; the tabulation represent
the combined judgment of SOC, 600
people. While the price paid may in :
some instances have been more than:
the true value of, the property, it is not
unreasonable to assume that there are
just as many instances in which th
sale price was less than true valu4
thus one off-setting the other.
One Of the strong points in the sys.
tenn is that it applies the same measure
of va1ue-the same yard stick-to each
district and each county in the state.
Whether the values determined by the
sales method be hi gh or low, the 50
tenn affords uniform measure u
value for the entire state, and when in
telligently applied, should result in as
equitable an assessment as human judg
ment can produce.
DAVIDSON AND DARLING
IN GREAT PROTECT
,An.article in the July Technical World
tells of the part A. D. Davidson and
Earl Darling took in the purchase Of
tract Of land near the slopes df
Mount Royal near Montreal, Canada,
at an enormous price for the Canadian
Northern railroad. This land is to be
improved and a model city built on II
to be known as Mount Royal, grading