Charlevoix county herald., 1915-04-03
SATURDAY. APRIL 3, 1915.
Policy of the
State Tax Com.
Assessments Must Be Equitable
and at True Cash Value.

sioners to the assessing officers
throughout the state. 1t is Of interest
to every taxpayer as it answers a num-
Der of questions which have arisen.
The letter is published In full.
MANY letters of inquiry have come
to the office of the Board Of State Tax
Commissioners during the past few
days, all evidently inspired by the
knowledge that field men of the Com
mission are now in a number OF coun-
ties engaged in the preliminary work
necessary to reassessment. These
letters call attention to the fact that
many supervisors in 1914, on request
from the Tax Commission, assessed
their districts at what they believed to
be true cash value and their assess
ments were reviewed by the local
boards of review on the same basis, re-
CARELESS of the raise in dollars and
cents and at the risk OF losing the good
will of their constituents. The letters
further call attention to the published
statements of the Tax Commission that
ut will not make reassessments nor
hold reviews in townships where the
supervisors and boards of review place
assessments at cash value, but will
leave the work of making and review
ing assessments in those townships
entirely in the hands of the local Of
ficials as long as cash value and
equality of burden are not departed
from" They also ask if such districts
are to be reassessed or reviewed along
with those where no attention was paid
to the requests of the Tax Commission.
"In answering these inquiries the
Board of State Tax Commissioners
wishes, first of all, to acknowledge its
appreciation of the work of these super
visors and boards of review who made
cash value assessments and to express
the hope that, regardless Of politics,
they will not be refused reelection be-
cause of having done their duty as pre-
scribed by law. We believe it to be for
the best interests of their constituents,
as well as Of the entire State, that they
be continued in office until cash value
assessments shall prevail throughout all
Michigan. That day we believe is near
Twenty five counties have been re-
assessed completely by the Commission
twenty Lone other counties, excepting
few townships which will be reassessed
by the Commission this spring, have
been brought up to approximate cash
value by their own assessing officers
and sixty townships in other counties
have also been so assessed. The local
assessing officers of Michigan added
more than 1920, OOO,O to the rolls in
1914, which, together with the increase
directly made by the Commission,
brought the average assessment OF the
State up 1872 per cent. of full cash value
AS for 1915, the reassessment OF the
Counties of Wayne, Monroe, Sanilac
and Muskegon is already under way,
and work preliminary to assessing
townships not up to cash value is going
on in a number OF other counties.
Should the response Of the supervisors
this year to the appeal of the Tax Com
to assess their districts at cash
value equal last year, as it promises to
do, the year 1916 will see cash value as
sessments prevail throughout the State
Answering the direct question as to
the intentions Of the Tax Commission
with reference to townships assessed at
cash value In 1914, we de-
clare that the original promise Of the
Tax Commission will be kept and that
we will not reassess nor review any
such township or district UNLESS the
for 1915 shall, on examina-
ton, be found to have been reduced
below cash value.
1.-THE Tax Commission has made
compilation by districts Of the assess
ment, real and personal, OF the entire
State. II has also compiled by districts
the approximate cash value of the tax
able property Of the State, as determin-
ed for the State Equalization of 1914
BY comparing the assessed valuation
and the approximate cash value, it has
determined which assessing districts
are in its judgment now properly as
sessed and which ones should be re-
viewed and brought up to true cash
value. In determining the list of
districts not to be reassessed many
have been included where there is
difference between the assessment and
the Commission s valuation arising from
an honest difference in judgment
which can be adjusted on the assess
ment roll for 1915 without a reassess-
ment. We have also tentatively includ-
cd I'm the lisf fownshine In which fba