Arizona republican., 1913-01-12
GENERAL OUTLINE
 OF PROPOSED WORK
A Hope That the League in This County May Be Later Unit of Statewide League Represented in Every County

For the purpose of finding out what is the matter, there is in pro- cess of formation an organization Of the taxpayers of this county. It is hoped that it will become shortly one unit of a state wide league engaged in the same work. The need of such eral of the business men of this city last fall. and informal confer ences were held on the subject of the organization of a taxpayers league. Some fifty of the taxpayers of this county have been approached regarding the matter. and they have entered into it with enthusiasm. It Is expected that the league will be organized with membership of not less than one hundred.
 One of the promoters, speaking Of the work, said that he would like to have it made clear at the outset that the purpose was not to enter upon any criminal investigation. There was no suspicion of graft on the part of any state. county or mu- ricipal official. We believe" said he. that all the public money has been honestly expended. but we sus- pect that it has not all been wisely spent; that much of it has been wasted, and so far as the taxpayers are concerned, it is just the same to them as if it had been stolen
 It is proposed to look first into the subject of taxation. That will be done by an expert, scientifically and carefully. An effort will be made to find out whether there is not some property that is escaping taxa tion and whether there is not some rroperty that is not bearing it's full share of taxation. This will involve careful study of the books of the assessors and tax collectors. Study will also be made of systems of tax atiOnS with the object of finding one that is best
 But the most important phase of the investigation will relate to the expenditure of the public funds, to | the end that the public will receive the greatest benefit from every cent | that is spent; that nothing may be wasted; that the public business may be conducted just as a careful and | successful business man conducts his | own business
 | Among the proposed reforms which | would be advocated by the league will be the budget system, a deter imitation before the beginning of the | fiscal year of the needs of the city. | county or state Such a budget, it 1 Aill he urged. should be progressive . | " liberal That should then be re- | garded as the basis of taxation i; rates could be adjusted to raise the l money required.
 l An investigation will be made into | the expenditures of the past, to as-
 certain what might have been avoid ed without detriment to the public 1 and whether or not there have been, 1 cases where full value was not re l Ceived for money expended. Little as well as the larger economies will l be sought out. for in public as well
 as in private business. it is the
 little that makes the mickle.'
 Speaking of the subject Of taxa
 tion. one of the men behind this
 movement said that while the league
 would not take up the matter ot | making assessments, it would be 6
 good thing to adopt a new system
 of assessing property at something
 near it's real worth. It has been i'm possible in the past to do that be | cause each county was independent
 of every other county and eacf
 sought to escape as much of the bur
 den as possible and so hammered
 down assessments. But with d cen
 tral authority such as will prViIablI
 be established by the legislature a
 the next session. it will be poSSibl'
 to obtain a uniform assessment O
 every class of property.
 A high assessment resulting in
 lower rate would not affect the tax
 payer and would be d good thing fo
 the country. good many prospec
 tive investors come to Arizona espe
 cially to the Salt River valley. an1
 are given a price on a tract of land
 Some of them visit the assessors of flee and find that the land was list
 ed for half or less than half of tn price asked. The intending pur
 chaser at once concludes that an at
 tempt has been made to swindle hin , and hunts another community.
 Another class of intending inves
 tors does not conduct such an in vestigation He is told the price o the land and on that he calculate his taxes at the rate of taxation Continued on Page Six)