Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1913-03-29
EXCERPTS FROM
REVENUE LAW
Provision 10 Made for Punshment Of
| An Official Where An Over
Valuation 10 Made

After the tax commission, COM
posed OF John D. Robertson, Axel
p. Ramstedt and J. A. Purtell
wrestled with a revenue bill for two
months, after the legislature wrestled
with 1t for two months more; and
after the assessors were brought to
town from all the counties OF the
state to wrestle with the finished
product, the problem Is finally up to
the ultimate consumer up to the
man who pays the bill.
Assessors and their deputies, with
their heads crammed full of the in
structions from experts and lawmak-
ers, and their pockets full of blanks,
are at large among the people trying
to convince them that they are very
rich, while the people are trying to
prove an alibi.
Not blessed with digestive organs
such as the ostrich has, the taxpayers
will not be able to assimilate this
new revenue system at one gulp. 1t
will take time, (and money! to get
to the bottom of the work of the ex-
perts and the law makers. Some of
the more astute citizens of the
state may he able to master the
new law before it is wiped out by
the next legislature and replaced by
another "best ever" system of tax
alton.
In tackling the new system of tax
alton the wise man will start with a
clean slate. He will wipe from the
tablets of his memory everything he
ever knew about taxation and start
in fresh.
This is the only way.
1t is the only way because this is
a new law. 1t Is not an amendment
70 any old law, but something alto
gether different. 1t is true OF course
that every feature of the old system
that was considered good at all was
brushed up and fitted into the new
system. But it will not be safe for
any man to rely ON any features OF
the old law 1t may be in the new
law, and then again maybe 1t is not.
And even II 1t is, it may be in such
strange company that its dearest
friend would not recognize it.
Of course the vital principle of the
new law Is to compel the "other fel-
low'' to pay the taxes he has lodged
up to this ~ime.
Full cash value is the starting point
Of the new law. All property that lis
assessed at all Is to beassessed at
full cash value
That's one point to remember.
Another point to remember Is that
the assessor will make no exemptions
in future. He will have no friends to
reward nor enemies to punish under
the new scheme All the property
subject to taxation goes on the tax
roll. Then il there are exemptions
to be made, the county commission
ers will look after that.
There will be as many exemptions
as before, but they will not run by
favor. Those who claim exemptions
must file sworn applications with the
assessor.
The assessor is to call at the office
place of business or residence of eac
person required to list property, If
he is a resident of the county.
Any property wilfully concealed, re-
moved, misrepresented or not listed
by the owner to evade taxation must,
when discovered, be- assessed at three
times its value and this must not be
reduced by the county commissioners
BY the way, IL any. man has any
doubt as to what full cash value"
really means, he will find 1t In the
law. In section 8 1t is set forth
that by cash value or full cash val
ue La meant "the value at which pro-
perty would be taken In payment Of
just debt due from solvent debt
or, or the amount the property
would sell for at a voluntary sale
made in the ordinary course of busi-
ness, taking into consideration its
earning power when put to the same
uses to which property similarly sit
uated is applied"
This definition is to be read from
left to right, beginning at the top.
If any assessor is caught assessing
property at more or less than it's full
cash value he may be cinehed for $100|
to $500 for each offense, and the
amount may be collected from his
bondsmen.