The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1913-06-13
ASSESSORS WILL HOLD CLOSE TO
THE LAW.

County assessors are to be held to
strict accountability in their asses
ment of the property of the state by
the tax commission. Chairman Ram
stedt of the commission announces
the provisions of the revenue law
that all property shall be assessed at
it's full value will be enforced to the
letter. No reductions will be permit
ted.
This decision of the commission is
being announced with considerable
emphasis, for the reason that the
states travelling agents have reported
that in a number of counties the
county assessors are making uneven
inequitable and too low valuations of
property listed by them. Particular
assessments that are complained of
are principally in Ada, Canyon, Lin
coin, Gooding, and Minidoka counties.
Reports have not been received from
the southeastern counties, and the
only northern county assessment re-
ported is on Latah.
Same Report Given.
In the counties first mentioned
above former valuations are generally
lowered, and it is announced that in
many cases valuable improvements in
real estate are not assessed at any
figure. In Latah county lands are
assessed at greatly increased values
over the 1912 and prior assessments
the increased values given ranging
from $40 to $40 an acre. 1t is report
ed that in the assessment of property
in Boise the most valuable of the i'm
provements do not appear on the roll.
Chairman Ramstedt feels this in
fringment of the law is especially an
noying because there is so little time
before the rolls must be made up
and turned over to the county boards
OF equalization. An effort will be
made to have these errors" correct
ed by the assessors prior to the COM
pletion of the assessment, but in any
event the county boards will be call
ed on to make proper corrections and
to supply the omissions that are
known. Even then, however it is
feared that many of these too low as
sessments will remain on the rolls
when they are received by the state
board of equalization. Corrections
made by the latter body will have
the effort of furnishing those whose
original amounts greater than the &C
tual value of the property. The state
board Of equalization in making in
creases and decreases on the rolls are
not able to handle individual cases,
but must make changes on classes Of
property assessed.
Call Attention to Assessors.
The commission is taking up the
matter Of tax values with all the
assessors. and attention is being call
ed to the provisions of the revenue
law in fixing actual values: Section 9
of the revenue law defines full cash
value as follows. "By the term value
cash value or full cash value is
meant the value at which the proper
ty would be taken in payment of
just debt due from solvent debtor
or the amount the property would
sell for at voluntary sale made in
the ordinary course of business, TAX
ing in consideration its earning power
when put to the same use to which
property similarly situated is applied.
Duty of Officers.
The duty Of the assessor is defined
in Section Is of the law:
"In ascertaining the value of any
property the assessor shall not adopt
a lower or different standard of val
ne because the same is to serve as a
as a basis of taxation, nor shall he
adopt as criterion any value or