The daily sentinel., 1912-09-06
TAX COMMISSION
WILL Be ATTACKED


. Denver, Sept. 5.--The Den q
. yer Electric Light Company Of e
Z ficials have attacked the consti- =
= tutionality OF the Colorado tax g
8 commission, which was author =
Is lied by the legislature OF 1911. u
.s The bin was introduced by Rep g
e resentative Skinner of Montrose g
q, county. g
8 The gas company declares y
3 that the commission was never .
3 authorized according TO law and -
e has been invalid since its incep- q
3 tion. All of which Is not true. g
eSs g g GS @ @ @ G, g g
The gas company raised the issue
that the commission is illegal when
1t filed protest with the county
assessor In which 1t will Ignore the
assessment made on the company's
property by the commission on the
grounds that 1t is exorbitant. An
appeal will be made to Governor
Shafroth for modification of the
assessment.
The conention Is set forth that the
tax commission has no legal power
to make original assessments, and
that II was the object of the legis-
lature in creating the commission to
make II body OF men to consider
taxation in general way and not
confine its Investigations to any par
ticular company.
The contention is set forth that the
pany is entirely erroneous, and its
Interpretation of the law is not a
correct one. Section l3 of the act
declares that the commission shall
exercise powers and authority in the
matter of taxation and to enforce the
law on levying and collecting of tax
es and exercise supervision over the
county assessors. county boards of
equalization and all other officers
and boards of assessment of property,
real and personal, and to be made
the true and full cash value; to re-
quire all county assessors, county
commissioners. county boards OF
equalization, under penalty of for
feiture and removal from office as
such assessors or boards, to assess
all property of every kind and char
acter at its actual full and cash
value.
The commission shall prepare and
transmit to the assessors OF the diff
ferent counties such forms of returns
to be made by them to the office of
the commission.
II property is not, in the judgment
of the commission, properly and just
~ assessed, and eQuitably assessed
as well. the commission has power
to make reappraisement OF any such
property to the end that all proper
ty may be justly and equally assessed
under the law. The commission even
hSs power, when county assessors
overlook assessments of any property,
n rannirp Qurh n nlnra
overlooked property on the assess
ment list.
The commission also may lower or
raise the assessed valuations of real
or personal property, first giving no.
lice to the owner thereof, and such
hearing shall be heard within the
.ounty In which the said property is
iocsted. Power also is given the
commission to levy fines for failure
tc list property at its true value, on
any county assessor or any member
of any board empowered to make as
sessments For such infringement
of the law a fine OF not less than
$50 nor more than $500 and in ad-
dition such officer shall forfeit his
office or position. Forty thousand
dollars were appropriated by the leg
islature for the maintenance of the
lOl tut pei
The gas company's assessment was
raised 100000. the total assess
ment being $3,770.000. The in
crease in the assessment, it is said.
has had much to do with the position
taken by the company as to the con-
stitutionality of the Colorado tax
commission.
A similar contention is made by
the Denver Tramway Company as to-
the legality OF the commission, and
will join the gas company in petit
tioning the governor to reduce the
assessment about $l.500,000, the to-
tai being s6,022,000.
The tax commission will hear the
two protests September 10.
Some 20 other corporations have
threatened to take similar action,
the effect sought being to have the
new state tax commission declared
an Illegal body II the corporations
win. the sI0,000,00O assessments
will be reduced one half.