The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-01-18

| lax commission was credLeu Dy Tie
legislature of 1913; they organized and
commenced their work in July of that
year by visiting the different counties
of the state, looking into and investi-
eating tax matters and comparing val
uations. one county with another, with
/ the assessors and boards of county
commissioners.
\ On these Investigations we found
| that while the law required all proper
| ty to be assessed at full cash value and
property given under oath ioy the
owner, not a single assessor in the
state at this time or any other time
| in the past, as far back as we could
| find any record. had ever even pre-
| tended to value and assess property
| as suited him, not even having uni
formity in his own county among his
| own people, his greatest effort usually,
being aided by his county commission
ers, to get valuations little lower
than he heard they were in adjoining
counties so that his county would not
pay more than their share of the state
taxes. We soon found that many of
them resented what they considered
Tax Commission or any one else inter
fere with or attempt to suggest to
them how they should value property.
In order to make it uniform with
other counties, after visiting all the
counties and finding no two assessing
property on the same basis but vary
ing from ten per cent in some counties
all the way up to seventy Ave per cent
In others, after finding these conditions
existing and knowing that under our
present law the assessor alone had the
right to value all property and no one
had a right to change their valuation
except the county commissioners,
which they seldom did, knowing that
under our present law the only way
to better conditions and make taxes
more uniform throughout the state
was through the tax assessors, we
called them to meet in convention in
Tallahassee in November 1913
A large majority Of the assessors
and several county commissioners at
tended this convention. They were IN
session two days discussing tax prob
lens. The majority Of them thought
that it would be unwise and work a
hardship on the tax payers to comply
with the law and assess property at
full cash value on account Of the high
maximum of miilage authorized and
the special millage already levied on
account of the heretofore low valua-
ton, that could not be reduced.
The tax commission had q confer
ence with the governor and we agreed
that it would not be best to raise prop
RS,H
we so informed the assessors in con-
vention and urged them all to agree
and pledge themselves to asses proper
ty on the same basis of not less than
fifty per ont. OF fun cash value and we
tried to impress II on their minds that
unless they all agreed to assess on the
same basis the tax commission, in
order to secure uniformity through
out the state would be forced to order
them to assess all property at full
cash value in compliance with. law
Yet. in the face OF all this, they ad-
journed without making any pledge or
signing any agreement and all re-
turned to their homes, intending TO as
sess property as pleased themselves,
not considering what any other coun-
ty assessed at
It was then we issued an order di-
recting them to assess all property at
full cash value in order to secure uni
formity throughout the state This
order created quite q confusion; it
was discussed pro and con through
the newspapers all over the state; the
people became interested and learned
more from these discussions through
the newspapers of tax conditions in
the state than they had ever dreamed
OF. Many of the assessors went to
work willingly to comply with the
law and assess property at full value.
while a few others resented and eased
their minds by Abusing the tax COM
mission until February when they met
together In another convention and
pledged themselves to aid assess all
property on the same basis of fifty per
cent. of true cash value.
The tax commission believing this
the best at this time, accepted this
agreement and cancelled their former
order for full value, uniformity being
what we were working for, something
we had never had
We had found from our investiga-
tons that the poor people In the state
were paying more than their share
Of the taxes, as the wealthy counties,
where the large cities were located,
had the lowest valuations. After the
agreement made with the assessors
the tax commission kept in close
touch with, and from time to time, /
visited every county in the state, con-
fering with the assessors. investigating
their assessments and urging them
to stand by their agreement In refer |
ence to valuations, etc, and we are
pleased to say that they all, with a few
exceptions, stood by their agreement |
and we believe those few viii feel |
ashamed Of themselves and fall into
line in 1916.
The county commissioners in a few |
cut down the assessors val |
lations, which will make these coun-
lies show up bad in our report, when |
The assessor is not responsible for it,
Under this fifty per cent basis vahu- /
atoms in every county in the state
pcraasad axcept in four counties.