Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1915-08-03


courts for Nashville, which was
found moneyless, with credit ex-
hausted. If a business management,
under direction of the courts is a
good thing in adversely, why is it
not better thing in prosperity?
WHY NOT ASSESS AT FULL
VALUE.
Times-Republican: why wouldn't
it be better for everybody to assess
all property at its real value for tax
alton, let Iowa have the advertising
that her land values deserve, and re-
duce the levies accordingly?" was
the question put to the editor by a
friend when they were laughing
about a bunch of assessors who
would return the value of Iowa
farms in thirty counties as having
declined below what it was in 1918.
Assessing the best land as worth
$50 per acre when plenty of men
are standing around waiting for an
opportunity to pay $500 for it does
seem about as ridiculous as some
valuations of $4,000 on stocks of
goods that are known to have cost
$4,000. Assessed valuations of all
kinds of property are VIGOROUSLY
low, to be sure, the attempt having
been more to equalize or to even up
one valuation with another and get
them all about evenly low rather
than to approach real values. Farm
land having risen in real value fast
er than any other kind of property
soon got out of joint with other
properties and it had to be boosted
in the 1913 assessment but even
then it's assessed value was scarcely
half of it's real value.
But why wouldn't the full valua.
ton plan work? In the first place
there are too many levies fixed by
statute which could not be reduced
as values went up and again there
are too many taxing bodies in con-
troll of tax levies. For instances
county boards which reduced levies
a year ago were annulled by town
ship boards which chung to the same
old road levies in spite of the fact
that Is per cent of their roads had
been taken over by the county and
valuations had been boosted 25 per
cent or more.
However, even if we should adopt
the school boards budget plan of
naming the amount of money need
ed and fixing a levy which would
raise it and even if all taxing could
be done by one board controlling all
levies the full valuation plan would
still be impracticable.
When guessing at values upon
which other men must pay taxes no
assessor feels free to go the limit.
vative figure so as to err in the di-
rection which will be most fair to
the taxpayer. Merchandise which
has one value when moving rapidly
is seldom worth over so cents on the
dollar when it must be sold in bulk |
for a dead or defunct business. No
assessor feels justified in assessing
it at full going value. Likewise
factory buildings and machinery
which may have cost 100000 and
be worth it to the going concern
might not be worth $4,000 to any
body else and no assessor will say
that taxes should be measured by
he full going value. No creditor
would loan on such value. Houses
and lots and farm land have the
most stability Of value and the most
9asily determined value because 1
5uch real estate is worth its price
L any owners hands and yet with
PERSONAL property necessarily under
'alued the tendency is strong to
squalize by undertaking the real
state for taxation. I
IN the main no serious harm is
one provided the equalizing is act