Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-07-10
FACTS IN HANDS OF EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL SHOW GREAT As.
sEssMENr INEQUALITIES.
FARM LANDS TAXED At LITTLE
MORE THAN HALF VALUE
Assessments This Year Not A., Near
Actual Valuation Of Property AZ in
Past-stats Executive Council Has
Interesting Array Of Statistics on
Which to Base Work Of Meeting.
oecial to Times Republican.

Des Moines, July 10.-When the
state executive council meets the
middle cf next week to take up and
consider all property valuations In
Iowa for taxation purposes it will have
before 1t extensive figures and valuable
information not alone in regard to the
actual value of corporation property
which it is required to assess but as
to real property concerning which it
can only direct an adjustment of vat
ues to bring them to an approximation
of the demands of the law.
For the third time the council Will
have laid before it reports from every
county of the state on assessment or
certain tracts Of land compared with
assessed valuation on the same lands.
Statistics Of this kind were gathered
for the council by Secretary A. II.
Dawson in 1913 and in 1909 and again
this year. Comparison Of results OF
the three years will be interesting.
Assessors Disregard Conditions.
There reports will show, among 9TH
err things, that while for the entire
state the average value as assessed on
lands is a little higher than the ad-
justed valuation of two years ago. IN
many counties it is lower, 80 that the
assessors have not kept up even to the
mark set for them at the last ADJUST
ment of land values.
For instance, the reported actual
value per acre for 1911 as fixed by the
assessors was, for the entire state,
s43.4s per acre. The average increase
ordered by the state authorities as re-
quired by law was IA per cent. This
brought the average per acre valua-
ton, under the adjustment. up to
$49.o7. Now the average per acre val
uation as reported from the counties.
after the county adjustment. on the
assessors valuations, is $50.67.
But in some counties the average
valuation is even lower than it was
two years ago. totally ignoring the
raise ordered then; as for instance.
Van Buren, county where they are
credited with being opposed to any
thing looking like progress, the valua-
ton as reported two years ago was
$500 an acre, the increase ordered
was rs per cent which brought the
value up. to ,sss.21; yet the assessors
and the county. board and the capitol
kickers let it fall back this year to
$33.S7.
On the other hand there is Franklin
county, for example. where the 1911 as
sessment was s44.9S an acre. raised to
1888. and now the county comes up
with an average valuation for taxa
ton purposes Of 1896.
AS for the comparisons Of the three
years, this is shown; that the average
reported value in 1903 was $A2.04 per
acre, adjusted to $41.97; and the re-
ported value in 1908 was $42.17 adjust
ed to $42.64. The adjustment from
$43.43 to $49.o7 two years ago was
therefore unusual.
Assessed At Little More Than Half.
But reports on typical tracts sold
and actual valuation Of same tracts
showed that. in 1908, the actual value
placed for taxation purposes was 80
per cent Of the same lands as sold the
year before. But in 1909 the actual
value placed for taxation purposes was
IS per cent Of the actual money real
lied in sales the year before on the
same tracts.
Now comes 1913 as compared with
sales in 1912. Reports have been re-
ceived from every county: and the aE-
gregate is large; and this shows that
the assessed value this year in As per
cent Of the sale value in actual trades
last year, on farm lands. On town lots
the percentage Of assessment to actual
sales is 81
These figures would indicate that
assessments for this year are not In
fact as near to actual value of the
property as they have been in the past.
that there has not been keeping up
with the advance in actual value OF
lands as shown by the record Of trans
fers. and that town property Is more
nearly assessed at its worth than farm
lands.
The figures for the state and for
each county Of the state will be laid
before the three members of the state
executive council in complete tabu-
lated form next week b. the score !
tary.