The Mena weekly star., 1913-05-29
INTANGIBLE VAIL
 UES AND TAXES
Tax Commission Changes Forms and Makes Special Effort to Get Returns From Such Prop
 erty-An Example.

Little Rock, May 2S.-The Arkan- sas Tax Commission has revised it's forms for the return of the tan gible and intangible values of cor porate property, and will make determined effort to get more of this on the lists than has been the case heretofore.
 In a letter of instruction to the county assessors. Chairman David A. Gates of the commission says:
 Many corporations have no tan gible values; in fact, it is often true that the assessment of the real and personal property of the corpora ton will be more than 90 per cent of the value of the stocks and bonds of the corporations. This will be the case with merchandis- ing and manufacturing corporations carrying average stocks of value in excess of their capital stock. The law requires that every corpora ton in the state must make re turn, and it must, under the law, be made, whether an intangible value is shown or not.
 An illustration: A lumber mill ing corporation is capitalized at S600000. The actual value of the capital stock is five to one; the az gregate value of the capital stock is therefore $3,0O000O The cor poration'S property is bonded for S50O,000. These bonds are worth $50O,000; total value of the stocks and bonds, S3,500,000. The prop erty, tangible and intangible, of the corporation as going thing is therefore worth $3,500,000.
 The tangible personal property of the corporation is assessed at Sl00,000, and it's realty at S600,000- total S100,000. The full value of it's tangible property, if the assess ment is correct, is therefore two times $700,000, or $l l,l00,000. Deduct the full value of the tangible prop erty-Si, ,400,0 ,000-from the value of the corporations property as shown by it's stocks and bonds-S3,- 100000 and there is left $2,100,000 intangible value. Fifty per cent of this is the Si,050,000."
 Chairman Gates announces that it is the purpose of the tax com mission to make a special effort to see that these provisions of the law are strictly and uniformly enforced throughout the state"
 Very full instructions are given the assessors in, the use of the forms for the assessment of tan gible and intangible property, and in this way it is hoped that very little of it will escape.
 To better facilitate the work of securing the necessary data, the tax commission has divided the coun- ties of the state among the three commissioners for supervisions. They are now engaged in making comparisons between the U. s. census reports and the county tax books, to arrive at a basis of as- sessment showing how far short they are of the 90 per cent, which is again being urged as the uni form basis for this year. The as sessors are also instructed to make special effort to get a 30 per cent assessment of goods, merchandise, moneys, notes and credits. On this point the commission says:
 "Of course, you understand that in assessing credits, consisting of notes and accounts, that you are to assess only the excess of credits over what the taxpayer himself owes, but never make any deduc- ton on actual property for what 1 ic nu,nH thnrnnn V