Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1914-09-11
TINE To RETRENCH

pects there is no Disgusting the fact
mat the general conditions of in
uustry and commerce compel econ
omy in all directions, and particular
y IN the matter of providing for
public expenditures next year. Now
Is the time to institute policy of
retrenchment to be amplified and
made more effective by the legis-
lature which is to meet in January.
1t is the alternate year when the
assessments of real property are re-
adjusted and an act of the 1919 leg
islature provides that all property
snail be assessed at mot to exceed
90 per cent of its true value"
The same act prescribes that the
true cash value shall be that value
LAT which the property would be
taken in payment of a just debt from
q solvent debtor. Every taxpayer,
before the equalization is concluded
by the county boards. should know
whether his property is assessed at
not more than half its value, as de-
termined by the formula written into
the law.
The time to protest against excess
sive appraisement, however, is dur
ing the three weeks session of the
Iequalizing boards in August.
While it is prudent to scrutinize
the assessments with a view to en-
forcing equality, reasonable reduc-
ton of taxes will depend on a proper
curtailment of the taxes. Agitation
in some counties has already taken
the form of demand by representa-
tives of taxpayers leagues for a
sweeping reduction of at least % per
cent of the sum total of this years
collections.
Taking the state as a whole, a re-
duction of one-quarter of the sum
total of taxes voted by the levying
boards last fall could be made with
out any embarrassment to govern
ment and without imposing hard
ship on any class of citizens. The
truth is that increase of taxation the
three years past has been prodigal
in the extreme.
During that brief period in
which we have witnessed an abate-
ment of industrial development and
a distinct decline in land values, the
direct taxes of the state have in
creased from s27,OS3,9SO to $685.
239,6S5, or, in exact amount, $11,-
I155,7O5.
For the same three years the as
sessed valuation of state property
against which these taxes are levied
has increased from $906,247,944
to $1,O14,475,O27, or only $685.
227OS3.
In short, for the last three years,
taxes have augmented 41.19 per
cent, while during the same period
the total valuation against which
these taxes have been levied has in
creased only 1874 per cent.
To make the comparison more Ell
fective it is only necessary to con-
slider the growth of population.
Adopting the three years increase of
the school census, which is so search
ingly made in the interest of the
school taxes, and multiplying it by
the ratio of population in the coun-
ties. as between the school census
and federal census of 1890, we have
total resident population in the
state of 1,21S,626, as against the
national census total of 1,141,990 in
1890, which is a gain of 1886, or
percentage increase of ell.
In order to illustrate better the
madness Of the pace at which taxes
are piling up let us recapitulate the
foregoing facts with respect to the
experience of the last three years
Per Cent
Increase of population ..... ell
Increase of assessed valuation "a
Increase of taxes ...........41.19
| Expressed in another form, the
ratio of increase of taxes in three
years has been nearly three and a
half times greater than the increase
of assessed valuation. and six and a
quarter times greater than the ratio
of increase in population.-E. d.
! Cowen in .Spokesman-Review.