The broad ax., 1916-10-07
Probably Not One Twentieth Of
the Intangible Values Listed
for Assessment LESS than
S4,OOO,OOO Mortgages
in Entire State.
LAW CANNOT &c ENFORCED


in Illinois. Most OF the intangible:
escape taxation altogether. The re
port of the State Board of Equalization
for 1915 shows the following totals fol
the State assessed by the local assess
ing bodies. The figures are for the
assessed" -one-third-value:
Investments in (secured by)
real es.;,yr and improve
menis ,-ereon (mort-
SageS) 1,ZU9,oUl
Shares of capital stock of
companies not of this
State NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 1,364,S52
Credits other than banker. Al, csc
Annufties and royalties. 72,745
Bonds and stocks ....... 1856, 904
Probably the full value of all tax.
able values in Illinois of the kinds
mentioned is at least twenty times as
much as the amount that is listed for
taxation.
Consider these figures: Cook Coun-
ty returns credits other than banker"
s3,925,678- value about $4,000
O0O 1t is enough to say that probably
there are single business concerns in
Chicago which have as much owing
them as is returned for the entire
county. In addition, it will be seen
that while Cook County has only about
Of 70 oradifc no
remainder of the state has more than
a hundred millions.
And, there are other inconsistencies;
for example: Winnebago County has
full value) nine million dollars of
taxable credits ("other than banker")
against Cook County's twelve million.
Kane has $4,5O0,O00; Ogle, $4,000, 900;
McDonough, S3,3O0,QO0; Knox, $3,000,-
600; Mclean, s3,2OO.OOO; Vermilion,
$3,2OO,OOO; Morgan, $3,60O,00O; Sanga-
mon, $4,300,00O; Peoria has barely one
half of any of the counties mentioned,
and the same is true of LaSalle, Will,
and other counties. Thus, it appears
that while the country counties as a
6AOOP o1O oooOooO0 hA6A 0A S4C04So -
compared with Cook, they are by no
means evenly assessed as among them
selves. But credits is not the only
class of intangibles that escapes, or is
unevenly assessed under the present
system.
Consider mortgages. For the entire
state, $1,209, 300-full value, $3,627,-
900-of mortgages are listed for tax
alton. Cook County returns less than
one-tenth of the total while it is well
known that there are scores of mort
cages any one of which approximates
the full total returned by the county.
Other counties show uneven assess
ments of mortgages. Little Tazewell
county has a larger mortgage assess
ment than Cook and many other coun-
ties are similarly disprOportionate.
Will County lists nearly five times
more in mortgages than Sangamon.
Many counties return no mortgages at
all
Shares of capital stock of COM
panieS not of this State show great in
conSiStencies. Only $1,364.S52 is listed
in the entire state-full value, $4,094,-
800. And of this Cook County. where
the bulk of such taxable values is
held returns $6@32 ,949-full value
about one-fifth of the state total.
As a matter of fact the bulk of this
sort of property in Illinois is owned
and held in Chicago; and probably
thereare hundreds of times as much
in the state as is listed for taxation.
1T is worth while to note that Kane
County returns much more of this tax
able value than Cook.
1t is the same in regard to bonds and
stocks. The state total-full value
is a little more than thirty million
dollars. Cook has about S1S.OOo.0O0
Vermilion, $1,00O,0O0; Sangamon, $780,
600. Many counties return nonn.
These manifest inequalities in the
assessment of intangibles result from
the variant conditions in different
counties. In some counties the assess
Ing officials direct especial effort to dis
covering and listing intangibles. In
others no such effort is made, the re-
suit is that some counties bear the
burdens which ought to be uniformly
distributed. The failure to assess is
due mainly to the defects of the theory
and system of taxing all intangibles at
the same rate as other property. The
Tax Amendment to be voted on Novem-
Der. will make a revision possible.
But, Affirmative voteS-a majority Of
all voters-must be recorded in its
favor II this amendment is not
adopted, at least four years must elapse
before the people can possibly have
another opportunity and 1t may be