Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1912-09-13
TAXATIONIN MINNESOTA
EFFORTS OF LEGISLATURE TO
AMEND ASSESSMENT LAWS so
THEY COULD BE ENFORCED

oAO" OAAe~o - PAOPOAVy was d0SOSSCu dG
its true and full value in money as pro-
vided by law, without first amending
several inconsistent statutes, the re-
suit would be a great and needless in
crease in taxes; an uncalled for in
crease in the salaries Of several hun
dred county officials and their clerks,
and, in all probability, in a great in.
crease in municipal Indebtedness.
Justice in taxation can only be at
tanned by strict compliance with the
law. This is proven by universal ex-
perience. There is no other way. With
rare exceptions, when an assessor
violates the law and sets up standard
of his own he either infGcts an injury
upon some individual taxpayer or else
he does injustice to every other tax
payer in the state. AS 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 mere travesty on
injustice. ,,~
Because Of the lack of harmony in
the laws which 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 everyone
of them would be mulcted with need
less taxes, and because it is not so en-
forced injustice is annually inflicted
upon large majority 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 without unnecessarily increas-
ing taxes and without injustice to any
body. Several conferences were held
with members Of the committees on tax
es and tax laws Of the house and
senate and the whole matter thoroughly
canvassed and the conclusion finally
reached that it would be better, all
things considered, to amend the law to
conform 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
among other things that, " except as
may be otherwise provided by law all
property subject to. a. general property
tax shall be valued at it's true and full
value in money, which shall be entered
opposite each item on the assessment
rolls, and shall be assessed at fly 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 property for purposes of taxa
tion, 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 brief de-
bate, it was indefinitely postponed. -
The failure Of the bill to pass was
due not so much to hostility to the
principle involved as it was to the in
ability 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 provid-
ed: in the bill as introduced. Some
Favored. thirty per cent, others forty,
others forty-fve, and others sixty; and
in the house one member ;offered an
amendment providing that property
containing iron ore should he 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
multiplicity Of views it seemed i'm
possible to reach common ground. The
bill landed at the end of the session in
the legislative ash heap where it
slumbered until the following session.
But the legislature recognized the
urgency Of the matter, and feeling that
something must be done to relieve the
situation, just before it adjourned sine
die adopted concurrent resolution re-
questing the commission to adhere to
existing methods until the legislature
met again.
a fireman, belonging to hose company
No. l, and was secretary of the Fire
mems Relief association and of the
| fire department.
The floral offerings were many and