The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-30

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 follows:
 To candidates for the democratic nomi
 nation for positions as members of tn,
 Alabama legislature from Jefferson
 county. including both the house ant
 the senate:
 The Real Estate association of the city of Birmingham. after discussion, beine convinced that one of the most important matters affecting the interest of the peo
 pie of Jefferson county Is the matter ot
 taxation, and realizing that bills may come before the next legislature designed
 to affect the method and amount of tax.
 alton of property, appointed the under signed as a committee to request you
 to express your views on certain phases of the subject of taxation.
 All men must realize that equality
 should be the basis of all taxation. For
 many years in this state, while the the l oretical basis of assessment of property
 was 100 per cent of its true value, this theoretical and legal basis as a matter of practice was disregarded and property
 was assessed in various counties of the state at various proportions of its value, according to the views of different coun- ty officials and the needs of different counties. In some counties the average of assessments probably did not exceed 70 per cent of the property's true value, In others the average assessments might have run as high as 50 per cent, and In some cases even higher, but it Is safe to say that the general average Of assessments throughout the state was far below 60 per cent of its true value.
 The state tax commission, recognizing that there should be some uniform ba sis or assessments and realizing that it would require many years to get the property CT taxpayers in this state assessed at 100 per cent of value, and further real 1zing that uniform assessments of 60 per cent would produce all the revenue needed, adopted a rule that property should be assessed throughout the state at 60 per cent of its value, and that county officials should work to bring as- sessments up to this level. Later on the supreme court of the state held that the state tax commission had no author ity to adopt the 60 per cent basis for assessments in view ur the statute fix Ing 100 per cent as the basis of assess ment. Following this decision of the supreme court the tax officials still made no effort to secure assessments of prop Ci y tHtOuBllOul Inc state at US full mar ket value, probably realizing that such a tremendous advance in assessments was not possible and not necessary, but In many cases the taxing officials used the law fixing 100 per cent as the basil or assessment as a club over the heads Of individual taxpayers. For example 1T the tax authorities thought a par ticular piece of property was worth s2O,- 0co, they would insist upon its being as- | SeSSed at S12 N1D if he oertook to argue that the property was only worth $l5,000 the taxing authorities not infrequently would insist that unless he come up to the $12,000 mark they would take the case into the courts, and that when the case was taken into the courts the court would enforce the law and as- sess the property at 100 per cent of it's market value, regardless of the fact that no such basis of assessment was applied throughout the state. In a legal proceed Ing the taxpayer could not show what other property was assessed at the only question as a matter of law being the market value of the property. The law required 100 per cent valuation a basis Of assessment. and the universal cus- tom throughout the state not to assess property at more than 60 per cent, and the general average being probably not over B or 40 per cent, produced a con- dibon that was most atisfactory and placed power in the hands of the tax Ing officials which was at times used arbitrarily and unfairly.
 In most of the counties of the state there never are any back tax commission CTS. Either none are appointed, or the appointee does not qualify or will not act. However, in Jefferson county and some of the other wealther counties, county tax commissioner is always busy His 10 per cent all raises is sufficient n- lIlPnnant In raiG al many as he can handle each year, having no incentive to equalize valuations
 It Is so much easier to raise revenue and make fees by increasing the assessments of property in Jefferson county than by undertaking to increase the assessments in the rural counties where the property is less valuable. The result has been constant tendency to increase the wealth. fer counties in the state, allowing them to remain stationary in the other coun- ties. This is so manfestly unjust that we believe all honest men who own prop orty in the rural counties are bound to agree with us that equalization through out the state is the only just and honest method The tendency has been to put the values in Jefferson county more and more nearly on the basis of 100 per cent while assessments of the rural counties have remained on an average probably of 35 per cent.
 Jefferson county Is the wealthieSt coun- ty in the state, and now paying into the state treasury about one-fourth of the states total revenue, and we freely con- fess that it should always pay a large amount of revenue ino the state treasury, but a corner lot in Birmingham should pe assessed at no greater and no less proportion of its market value than a farm in south Alabama.
 The last state legislature believed that SO per cent of values should be made the basis of assessment throughout the entire state. It also believed that SO per cent represented practically the maximum, of assessments necessary and that if the general average could be brought up to anything like this figure, the state would have all the revenue it needed.
 There have been from time to time since the enactment of this 60 per cent law suggestions made that the law should be repealed for the purpose of securing increases either in the revenues for the cities or for the state. It is the belief of tin real estate association that if the 60 per cent law is repealed the result will be to increase assessments in Jefferson county more nearly to 100 per cent and leave unchanged assessments in many of the other counties. With this club over the property owner money will be raised where 1t is easiest to get it. The real estate association believes it would be a profound mistake for the 50 per cent law to be repealed and thus give this arbi- trary power to the taxing officers, We believe that what is needed Is not an increase in the legal rate of assessment, but greater uniformity in assessments throughout the state and greater effici- ency in the administration of our taxing laws. We know that if the general aver