Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1914-01-31
PROPERTY Is LOST
AUTOMATICALLY
New Tax Law Works Hardships
on Taxpayers Not Familiar
With its Workings

Did you pay your taxes before Jam
uary 5?
If you did not, you do not own any
property.
The reason for this Is that under
the new law, upon your failure to
pay upon that date, 1t becomes the
duty of the tax collector to report
such failure to the county recorder,
whereupon, forthwith and without any
further procedure, the property be-
comes the property of the county says
the Statesman.
There is no notice of sale, simply
because there Is no sale made. Here
tosore, six months have been allow
ed with penalties attached, before
yransler OF title to property because
of failure to pay taxes becomes for
feited. During that six months any
oaxpayer might appear, pay the taxes
together with penalties and the pro-
)erty would not even be advertised
ior sale, much less sold, but now
laalure to pay acts automatically to
ransfer title from the former owner
o the county, without opportunity to
pay before such transfer, without
lotice CT any kind and without sale.
Moreover, If after such transfer TO
to the county by automatic action OF
law, any citizen should ascertain that
me tax has not been paid aud he
should regard the purchase as a der
J1rable one, he can appear before the
recorder and demand an auditors Ger
tif.cate which transfers the property
TO him. Then if the former owner
shall desire to redeem 1t and get 1t
back, he must pay 10 per cent penal
ty and then on top of that he must
pay interest at the rate OF Is per cent
and must also pay 81. for his cer-
tlficate.
There will be no delinquent pro-
perty advertised for sale at any time.
The tax sharks Will simply go to the
recorders office, inspect the list, and
demand certificate for that which
they regard as offering a good invest
ment at Is per cent upon their out
lay, and the auditor cannot refuse,
neither can he demand that only
small portion of any tract be taken
as sufficient to secure the payment
of the whole but he must transfer
the whole property to the tax shark.
1t has been ascertained that many
taxpayers, being unable to raise the
money with which to pay their tax
es, decided that they would prefer to
pay the penalty, which they believed
would be per cent, in July. The 4
per cent however, applies only 10
the second payment when the first
payment has been made. II first pay.
ment was not met the county auto
matically, by operation of law, be.
comes the purchaser of the properly,
but is forced to transfer its rights
to the tax sharks upon demand ard
the tax sharks get the benefit OF the
lS per cent penalty. This has lett
many heavy taxpayers ian bad pre-
dicament, 1t Is stated. How many
have failed to make first payment
and thus protect themselves, will not
be known for three or four days yet,
as the county treasurer has been 90
busy sending out receipts for money
received by mail to make up the list
of property delinquent and, therefore,
owned by the county. When this list
is completed it will be turned oysr
to the county audlrcr and thereupcu
becomes the property OF the county
until purchased by the tax sharks