New Ulm review., 1912-09-04

else, or because he Will be an easy
mark" for influential tax dodgers. Men
of this type soon discover that the
surest way to remain long In ONCE 10
to be "easy" and accommodating"
and above all to keep the assessment
of their district down to the lowest
possible point. The inevitable out
come, of course, is q low assessment
Another strong factor in lowering the
standard OF assessment can be easily
traced to the overEealous desire on the
part Of many boards of equalization
to keep the assessment of their con-
stituents just little below their
neighbors. And all of these forces
working together have SO completely
undermined the law that there Is lit
tie left but the ink with which it Is
printed.
AS early as 1878 it was apparent to
the legislature that assessors were
not enforcing the law and they passed
an act providing, among other things,
that each year, before beginning their
work they should meet at the office
of the county auditor for conference
with him In regard to their duties.
While the manifest purpose Of this
law was to aid In bringing the assess.
ment up to the legal standard, in ac-
tual practice It has worked Just the
reverse. Evidently constituting 1t as
giving them power to do about as
they pleased in assessing property 1t
has been the well-nigh universal
practice for assessors at these meet
ings, in direct violation Of the law re-
quiring that all property shall be as.
sessed at It's true and full value"
to adopt resolutions embodying agree
ments to assess different kinds and
classes of property in different ways
and at different rates. .-., -.5s..
In nearly all of the counties these
resolutions provide that certain speci.
fed classes of personal property shall
be assessed at so much per article and
different kinds and classes of live
stock at so much per head. The re-
suit being that piano worth $500 is
assessed the same as one worth $50,
and a horse worth 5000 at no more
than one worth $40. After providing
in this way for the, assessment OF
certain selected classes and kinds OF
property the resolutions usually con-
tain a residuary clause providing that
all other property shall be assessed
at certain designated per cent of
its real value These percentages
range in the different counties all the
way from Is to so per cent of real
value. In no county in all classes of
property assessed at the same per
cent of true and full value;" and in
several counties all lands are assessed
at the same rate per acre regardless
of value.
Basis Of Valuation fon Taxation Pur-
poses.-No. 2.
Coupled with the statute requiring
that property shall be assessed Eat its
true and full value in money" is an
other, equally explicit, providing that
all property not exempt from taxa
ton shall be listed and assessed.
While this provision of law is not vio-
lated by assessors in the same open
and systematic way as the one requir-
ing "full valuation" it is, neverthe-
less, wilfully violated in great many
assessment districts every year. In
many districts it has long been the
custom to assess five horses as four;
three cows as two, and 80 on down
through all the classes on the list,
the purpose in most cases being to
keep down the assessment of the dis.
trict by keeping up the average assess.
ment Of each article in a given class,
while in few cases it may be re-
sorted to for the purpose Of favoring
the assessors friends.
II all property was assessed at q
uniform given per cent Of true and
full value" the result would be a
square deal for everybody. II the law
permitted, there would be no inherent
vice in ''undervaluation" so long as
everybody was treated alike. But
when property that should be taxed is
omitted from the rolls; and when ev-
cry article in given class Is assessed
at a fixed sum regardless of value, a
square deal Is impossible. Such meth.
DDS invariably result in the grossest
injustice not only to districts taken
as whole, but to individual taxpay.
ers as well, and are unquestionably
the most vicious and indefensible Of
all the illegal practices that have fas'
tened themselves upon our taxing sys.
tenn during fifty years of lawbreaking
They work almost invariably in favor
of taxpayers owning high grade and
costly property. In short, they favor
the rich as against the poor, and,
worst of all, they leave the small tax
payer without any adequate means Of
redress. It is just about as expensive,
and takes just as much time, to OBJ
tain relief from an over.assessment
against the small holdings of poor
man as it does to correct an assess.
|ment involving thousands of dollars;
and. the result is that the small tax.
payer submits to the wrong because
he cannot afford to do anything else,
while the large taxpayer, because OF
the large amount involved, can AFFORD
to and does usually hight for his
rights and get his unfair assessment
corrected. 81, e- "'--.. ,.t
I Equally and Justice in: taxation IN.
der our laws depend almost entirely
upon- the assessor He 10 BY faf the
most. important omcer Who has any.
tAin1 "a ogdo With taxation IL he