The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1915-11-16
By E.. A. Peters


There is soon to go to trial
I'm the Pierce county courts u
lawsuit of importance to
YOU and to me and to every
other owner of property in
the state.
It's entitled "The State
Tax Commission of Washing
ton VS.. James j. Cameron,
assessor of Pierce county,
1t all
It's suit to determine
whether we little fellows will
Zig up about twice as much
laxes as we now pay, for the
benefit of the big taxpayers.
III our assessor loses, there
will be thousands Of us not
now paying taxes-because
Of the $500 exemptiOn-ol
personal possessions, who
will begin paying more than
cents on every dollars
worth of pianos and furni-
ture and bicycles and carpets
and clothing and everything
else that we own except real
estate.
Something that affects
every one of us vitality. Yet,
ten to one, you never heard
of It before.
For Is years the assessors Of
counties in Washington have only
NJ of
In Tacoma, we have paid taxes
on half of what we own. And
the commonwealth has kindly al
lowed us an exemption of S3p9
on personal property.
That is, married men and
heads of families have been al
lowed this exemption. Bachelors
and other independent persons
have paid on everything they own.
Which is as 1t should be. But
that's another question.
Our assessors have for years
followed the custom of subtract
ing the $500 exemption from the
LIBERALIZATION of our personal
property, and taxing us on what
remained.
For instance, w. F. Adams,
1903 South 8th street 1--WE picked
his name at random from the as
SCISSORS books) figured his per-
sonal property this year at $7nv.
Assessor Cameron took out the
80 per cent valuation, as has al
ways been done, and put Adams
down on his books as owning
$3.50 worth. Then he took away
the exemption, and found that
Adams should be taxed for $50
worth of personal property. His
tax on it is So.
But q few weeks ago tho
state tax commission had an
Outburst of originality and
decided that Assessor CAM
erOn and all the other as
SCISSORS of Washington were
going at IL wrong.
The commission declared
that the exemption should be
taken from the actual valua-
tiOn and not the assessed val
uatiOn. And IL sent orders
around demanding that every
assessor change his methods.
1t Overruled all precedent
in taxation systems.
Assessor Cameron refused
point blank to obey. And the
commission Immediately
jumped on him with a man
damus suit. It Is that suit
which is to come mp for trial
in few days.
Now let's see what happens un-
der this apparently trivial change
of method. Take Adams case,
for instance.
At present Adams pays So taxes
on $50 taxable valuation. Under
the proposed system, the 5000
exemption would be taken from
his $500 actual value, leaving
$500. Then the 80 per cent val
-uation would be cut off, leaving
5000 on which taxes would have
to be paid. Adams taxes next
year on the same amount of per-
sonal property would be IS.
Here's another example, snow
ing how some of us who don I
pay any taxes now because of
the exemption, will be caught un-
der the new ruling.
Charlie Epp, a waiter at the
Majestic cafe, has personal prop
erty worth $500, or 5000 on a
so per cent valuation. He doesn' I
pay any personal taxes, being
married, because the $500 ex-
emption covers him. But the
state wants to deduct the exomp-
tion from Epps $500 worth, d.
vide the 500 by two, and tar