Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1913-09-19
From tuesdays Daily
WILL REFUSE TO
SURRENDER TAX LIST

The Elko County Treasurer. Major
Miller, has raised q remarkable
point in law which may make the
newly created state Tax Commits
sion impotent to some extent.
At the last legislature the state
Tax Commission was born and
nursed with a whole lot of legal
verbiage. The commission is sup
posed to oversee and regulate the
state taxes. Recently they demanded
of Major Miller, the Elko County
Treasurer, the tax roll for 1912.
Major Miller refused to surrend-
1r the roll to the state Tax Com
mission or the ground that the tax
roll was a portion Of the county
records, the property of Elko
County and that he as the custodian
of this property was liable to his
bondsmen for its safety and on
the further ground he had no legal
authority to allow the County re-
cords to leave the Courthouse much
less the county.
Now comes the same question in
a new form. TIE 1913 tax roll is
in the hands of the County Com
missioners sitting as a board of
equalization. The tax roll is sun
posed to be turned over to the state
board when the county commissions
ers have finished their work.
1t seems TO be the general opin-
ion that ElKo County will refuse to
surrender it's tax rolls for 1912 or
1913 TO the State Tax Commission.
A close examination Of the law
passed 10y the last legislature fails
to disclose any authority for the
state FAX Commission to demand or
force the removal of the Elko Tax
rolls from Elko to Carson City.
The law was thoroughly examined
today and found to be vague, indie
finite and ambiguous in defining
the powers the Tax Commission is
. invested with. Nowhere is il pro-
vided that the records can or shall
be removed from the county. 1t is
theIconsensus Of opinion that the re-
cords of Elko County will not be
surrendered to the State authori-
= ties without a court order and so
far as al be learned the Court
p has no authority to direct the re-
moval of county records outside
the county.
It was pointed out by a well vers-
ed lawyer that tho records are as
sCntially a part of the county gov
eminent and the removal Of the re-
cords would disrupt the county
government during their absence.
1t Was argued that no one had a
right to disturb or hinder the
county government in performing
its legal functions.
Consequently Elko County au-
thorities will adopt the attitude Of
Missourians and must be shown
before they evor surrender their
tax rolls or any other county re-
cords to the state authorities. If
the State Tax Commission wants
any informstiOn uhout Elko taxes
it a come to EIkc and get it.
Every other county in Nevada is
affected by this same question
and it is believed that practically
all Of them will take the same at
titude as Elko county and refuse
to surrender their books.
1t is pointed out fer sake of ar
gumtnt that if the Elko TAX roll
with its $40, 600, 600 foxes should
be lost between here aid Carson
lefty tina, the county would be out
Iall the 1913 taxes as at best it
would take six months to make up
a duplicate and the law provides
that the ORIGINAL. tax list can
not be filed for the collection Of
taxes.
Even if a new roll was made up
it would take months, possibly a
year before the taxes could be col
lected and in the mean time the
county would be without funds to
work with.