Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-05-13
STATISTICS COMPILED FOR Exc.
cUTlvE COUNCIL SHOW As.
SESSMENT A FARCE.
FARM LANDS PAYING
ON II TO IA PER CENT
Most Of Farms Of County Assessed
Less Than SO Per Cent Compared
With Price Same Land Sold for Dur.
ing 1912 Assessments Of Town
Properties Show Higher Percentage.

When the state executive council
takes up the valuation OF Marshall
county farm lands and town properties
! for the purpose of adjusting and
equalizing taxes, it will find that land
has not been assessed in this county
according to law, or even approx
/ imately close to the intent Of the law.
This is shown by the statistics being
prepared for the executive council by
/ County Auditor y. H. Welker and Miss
| Eta Northup. county recorder.
The latter drew off a long list OF
transfers of land and town properties
and included the price given in the
deed as the price at which the property
was sold during 1912. The auditor
filed the amount for each Of these
properties at which the assessors had
assessed them for taxation.
Far Below Legal Value.
These comparative figures show that
both kinds Of property, farm and town.
have not been assessed according to
law Both have been assessed far be-
low what the law intends. The law is
that the assessor shall assess the land
at it's actual value and that taxes shall
be paid On one-fourth of the assessed
or actual value.
AS matter of fact most of the farm
land of the county has been assessed
at less than 90 per cent of its value,
and taxes have been paid on approx
imately Il TO IA per cent of the actual
value of the land. The assessed value
of town property has been uniformly
higher
What the Figures Show.
In the tabulation below there is a list
of thirty six farms that were sold in
sixteen townships during 1912, with
the sale price included, also the value
it which the land was assessed this
spring by the assessors. This tabula-
ton shows the thirtysiX farms, which
were selected at random, We're assessed
for taxes at from 80 to 60 per cent of
the price a which the deeds say they
were sold during the year.
OF these thirty-six only ten are as
sessed at 80 per cent or more Of the
supposed sale price. The other TWEEN
ty-siX were assessed at less than so
per cent of their supposed sale price,
and a great many were assessed at less
than 40 per cent of this price.
Town Assessments Higher.
In the same way eighteen properties
that had been sold in ten towns of the
county during the last calendar year
We're selected. They have been as
sessed at from 80 to 80 per cent of the
price for which they were sold, accord
ing to the records. But thirteen Of the
eighteen We're assessed at 80 or a
higher per cent Of the sale value, and
eight of the eighteen were assessed at
90 or higher per cent of their sale
price.
No properties or assessments for the
city of Marshalltown are included. for
altho large number have been listed
by the recorder as sold during 1912, the
city assessors figures are not yet
available.
Sale and Assessed Value.
In the following tabulation will be
found the sale price, the assessors
valuation and the percentage of the
assessed valuat ion as compared with
salep rces:
Sale Assessed Per cent OF
Price. Value. Assessed Value
4 DIT