Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1916-03-01

state levy, each county and it's sub
divisions has entire control over the
amount Of money raised for public
( ,'rposes by taxation.
'fo...- Armson referred to growing tax
ra.<c3/ throughout the state and said
that {. s. sors are frequently blamed
for grOWc< TAX burdens, while, as a
matter of ~ they are not respons-
ible for high tax nor are they en-
titled to credit for low tax rate.
He said that it is not the assess
meNt that determines whether a tax
will be high or low but the amount IF
money spent for public purposes.
Large appropriations mean high taxes.
When a community is spending q
large amount Of money, taxes will in
evitably be high, but the assessor as
an officer has absolutely nothing to
say about how much money shall be
spent for any public purpose. Mat
ters of expenditures are determined
by town meetings, school meetings,
village and city councils, county
boards and the state legislature and
The people themselves have absolute
control over the very thing that deter
mines tax rates expenditures. This
through school and town meetings, or
indirectly through the elective officers
of the various other units of govern
ment-village, city, county and state.
If, therefore, tax rates are unreason-
ably high the fault is with the people
rather than with assessors.
But while the assessor has nothing
to do with making taxes high or low,
he has nearly everything to do with
determining whether they shall be
fair and just. It is his function to
determine how much of the public bur-
den each taxpayer shall bear. This
he does when he places a value on
taxpayers property. If he does his
work in accordance with law approx
mate justice will prevail between the
taxpayers of his district but, on the
other hard, if he departs from the
legal standard of valuation, or omits
any considerable amount of property
from the tax list, injustice in taxation
will inevitably follow. It is therefore
of the highest Importance that all tax
able property be listed and assessed
in strict compliance with law.
He said that in a general way grow
ing tax rates are largely due to the
expanding functions of government
state and lOcal-and to an increasing
demand on the part of the people for
more things and better things from
each of the units of government. We
now demand and insist that numerous
things be done by government that we
did for ourselves years ago or left un-
done entirely. To do these numerous
things revenues are necessary, and
the necessary revenue must be raised
by some form of taxation, so that ev-
cry expansion of the functions of gov
ernment entailing the expenditure of
money must inevitably be followed by
higher taxes.
High tax rates do not necessarily
mean extravagant expenditures. If
the money derived from tax }eYies is
wisely and economically expended the
benefits derived by the taxpayer may
fully compensate for a high tax rate.
This is a question, however, that each
district must decide for itself.
Mr.. Armson briefly analyZed the
amount and purpose of the tax levies
of Kandiyohi county. The total tax
levy in the county last year and pay
able this year amounted to 1907, ,465.74
Each $1O0 Of this amount, when col.
lected, will be apportioned as follows:
To the state for support of state gov
ernment and state institutions, $6.57
to the county, 1919; to the towns
1910; to the cities and villages, $12-76;
, to education, $33.93; and to roads and
bridges, $24.45.
The total state levy in Kandiyoh!
couny last year, including the state
| levy for schools and roads and bridges
amounted to $4S,1026O while the coun
ty received $63,371.58 from the state
in aid of schools, roads and other 10
cal purposes. Expressed in another
way, for each dollar you levied fo]
state purposes last year, including
schools and roads and bridges, you r.
ceived from the state in aid of schools
roads and other public purposes, $1.3
in return. These figures show tina
direct taxes, in their final analysis ar
levied almost entirely for local pul
poses.
More or less discussion has takel
place of late as to relative tax rates il
the rural districts and in cities an
villages. In comparing rates it shoul
be borne in mind that farm or unpla1
, ted lands are taxed on basis of one
,. Continued on page 8.