The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1915-01-27
NEEDED TAX REFORMs.

The present legislature should take
up the question of reforming the
system of levying taxes in this State.
This is urgent not that any more
money should be raised but to cor
rect glaring inequalities in. tax as
sessments.
Under the present plan of assess
ment Of property, the poorer coun-
ties pay more taxes proportionately
than the weather. counties and the
poorer people in all the counties pay
more taxes proportionately than the
Weather people.
For instance, there are counties IN
| the State where the entire acreage on
the tax books is assessed at an aver
aged value IF about six dollars per
acre, and the averaged selling value
| of that land is easily fifty dollars PEI
acre. There are other counties where
the acreage is assessed at FIVE dollars
per acre and the averaged selling
value of the lands is perhaps less
than ten dollars per acre. There are
counties in which the averaged price
| of farm lands has enhanced from two
hundred to three hundred per cent
|! in the last ten years, and the assessed
value of these same lands has not
been increased even ten per cent.
The only way to have assessment
of taxes weigh equally on all tax
payers is to assess property at its full
value. If the constitutional 8 mill
tax Is a stumbling block, then repeal
lit or amend the constitution so as to
raise the present funds required on a
[smaller levy. -.
Equality Of assessment can never
|be obtained through the State Board
|of Equalization as now constituted.
The members from the various coun.
| ties go to Columbia as the special
guardians of the counties from which
they are sent. Every man is trying
to get bis county as low as possible,
and he will concede the other fellow
anything in order to be let alone
himself. 49,,
The State assessing board should
be made up of three men. They
should go from county to county and
ascertain from public records and by
enquiry what is a tair averaged valne
of lands in each county. Then tax
ing the number Of acres from the
Auditors books, they should say
how much the lands of that county
as whole should be valued for tax
alton. Then the township and coun-
ty boards should distribute the bur.
den. City property should be as
sessed first byfa special city board
and In this assessment the insured
value Of buildings should be copsid'
cred in trying to arrive at actual val
ues. Personal property should beas-
sessed at a price that the party max
ing the return would be willing to
sell it. ~ .:. =,
Things. have gone from bad to
worse in this State in the matter OF
assessing property, despite the man
iy fight the present Comptroller Gen
eral has made from year to year for
tax reforms. The difficulty is that
tax dodging::'grows proportionately
as the taxpayers capacity to pay In
creases, and the end is not yet. =
The poor man who has Q tract Of
land worth eight dollars per acre and
is returning it at four, is: perjuring
himself, but he excuses his act be-
cause some other man who has land
worth one hundred dollars per acre
is returning it at eight. He does not
realize that he is being robbed for
the benefit of his 'wealthier neighbor.
The legislature owes it to itself to
correct this evil, if for no better rea-
son, then at least to save the citizens
of the State from wholesale perjury.
Many people can't understand that
to raise the assessment of. property
to actual value would reduce the
rates of taxation to less than one-ffth
present rates, and raise no more
money. 1t is not a question Of try
ing to raise more money but of try
ing to equalize the burdens of taxa
ton. ...