Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1916-02-04
Report OF State Tax Commission.

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report as whole" The reasons for Judge
Leser's dissent are not given and there is
nothing to show in what particulars he
fails to agree with his colleagues.
1t is reported. however, that one of the
chief points Of difference in the commits
sion is over the methods of reassessine real
estate in the various counties with the
object of bringing about uniformity. The
majority members, Messrs. German and
Wickes, take the ground that this reassess-
ment should not be undertaken at all until
it can be done all over the State at the
same time, arguing that to reassess one
or few counties at a time, thus largely
increasing valuations and consequently
taxes. would be an injustice to such county
or counties unless the undervaluations in
other counties are raised at the same time.
The commission has an excellent plan
for the reassessment the State to be laid
off into blocks. with units of value after
modern scientific methods instead of the
old-fashioned guesswork valuations that
have been in vogue so long. 1t has also
great mass of valuable data for the work,
all of which, it is declared, is of little or
no use If the actual work of reassessment
is to be indefinitely postponed.
In discussing the matter of reassessment
in its report the commission quotes the
law creating it that ut shall be the duty
OF the State Tax Commission and it shall
have the power and authority to enforce
and execute continuing method of as
sessment, and to require that all property
in the State shall be reviewed for reassess
ment at least once in every five years."
After telling of the notices to the various
Boards of County Commissioners and of
the failure Of II Of them to take any notice
OF the instructions, the report continues:
Because Of the failure of the County
Commissioners in most Of the counties to
provide the necessary means the commits
mission considered it unjust and eminently
unfair to those counties which had provided
the means to make the reassessment while
allowing other counties which had not
made provisions by means of appropria
tons to benefit from the failure to do the
things requested of them. A reassessment
under these circumstances was inexpedient
and improper. Investigation has con-
WINGED the commission that the present
assessment Of property is unequal between
adjoining counties and unequal between
adjoining districts in the same counties,
and even between adjoining owners
Nowhere is this more evident than in
the assessment of property in the cities
and towns Of Maryland. Many incorporated
towns have a municipal basis different in
amount from the county basis. The COM
mission has a complete record of the as
sessment of property in these towns, and
this record discloses the fact that there is no
uniformity in the assessment Of the same
property for the municipal or town pur-
poses and the assessment for State and
county purposes. In some cases the town
assessment is higher than the county and
State assessments, and in other cases the
State and county assessment is higher than
the municipal assessment In most cases
it is higher for municipal purposes The
inconsistency is even greater in cases of
the assessments of the improvements.
Town property. without exception, is as
sessed higher for city and county purposes
in proportion to its value than property in
other parts of the county is assessed. even
in those towns which have the same basis
for State and county purposes and for
town purposes.
"All doubt as to the power of the State
Tax Commission to have the County Com
missioners provide for the expense Of
reassessment should be removed by lees-
lative action, and such act of the Leeisla-
ture should also provide for compensation
to the County Commissioners for the addi-
tional work required Of them in making
reassessment, as otherwise they could not
be paid for their services"
After describing these generally admit
ted inequalities the report closes with the
following promise:
when the proper machinery and author
ity is conferred upon this commission and
provisions are made for financial system
to defray the expenses of a reassessment,
and with the aid of the valued information
and statistics in the possession Of this
commission, complete reimbursement Of
values can speedily be made"
And it would seem that the commission
does not consider that II has the requisite
power and authority without further leeis-
lation to do anything about curing the
evils which il sets forth so plainly.
The good work Of the commission in find
ing and putting on the tax lists some
$20.000,000 Of securities that had before
escaped taxation, the increase in corpora
ton assessments In 1915 over the year
before of about $l3,250.000. the increase
in traders licenses and other work is
brought out in the report.
The report includes some excellent recon-
mendations concerning the lax methods
and lack of uniformity in the return of
taxes from the counties to the State Comp
troller, over which, however, the commits
sion has no power. A large percentage Of
current taxes from the counties is not COL
lected in any current year. Some Of the
counties return none at all and others re-.
turn about any amount that suits them.
A large percentage is never received by
the Comptroller at all and IL the county
authorities fail to collect there seems to
be no authority to compel them OF even to