The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-31
Defend Action in Asking Property Owners to Unite
 in Resisting Big Raises
FORMAL CONTRACTS
 ARE BEING SIGNED
Assessors Office Still Crowded Daily With Property Owners Who Seek Information on
 Assessments

The statement of Thomas w. Sims,
 chairman of the state board of tax
 equalization, regarding the attitude Of
 the Birmingham Real Estate exchange
 toward the tax increases made in Jeffer-
 son county, published in yesterdays Age
 Herald, has caused the third statement
 to be issued from the exchange.
 Immediately upon the filing of the re-
 port of the county board of tax equali-
 zation the Real Estate exchange issued
 a lengthy statement branding the board
 as "tax raiders This statement was
 answered with one from the county
 board. which was, in turn, answered by
 a second statement from the exchange.
 Yesterday MT. Sims took the matter up and made a statement substantiating what had been safd~by the county board. The exchange makes the following reply to him.
 Ut is gratifying to hear from MT. Sims that no wrong is intended Jefferson county by the enormous tax raisss SSxos gently proposed. He should not blalf the people of Jefferson county for having scme doubts, for he must remember for a long number of years the emissaries of
  ued to increase the tax assessments of
 Jefferson county. until it is paying
 much greater part of the states revenue
 than the proportionate value of it's prop
 erty would justify. The property owner
 has seen the amount of his taxes an-
 nually increased, while the value of his
 property has not increased.
 PROTEST OF OWNERS "Mr. Sims should know that the Real
 Estate exchange of Birmingham is conn
 posed of property owners and their agents; therefore, the protest of the ex- change is only the protest of the prop erty owners themselves, who. if they combine. may avail themselves of the right which is practically denied them in the law by reason of the expense. The small property owners must either band together or submit
 Tt is real refreshing to note the naivete of MT. Sims advice to the prop erty owners, to go direct to the board, majority of whom are his appointees, rather than take council among them selves, for the Real Estate exchange is part and parcel of them. MT. Sims says i've quote his exact language, that the county boards have been actuated bS the purpose of obtaining such values as will allow the state and county to advance along progressive lines We believe 1t. The advance in taxation has been cer- tain, but where and when, we ask have the values increased? Certainly not since the state board itself adjusted them. According to members of the county board of equalization, the statement made by MT. Sims yesterday was noth- ing more than to bear out t'a state- ment made by the county bd d. "We said that reasonable hearii would be given all property ownerASn due time and that was substantiated by MT. Sims" they said. The board con- tends that it will not be necessary for the property owners to employ attor- neys to present their claims and that they will get a better hearing by not doing so if there is difference of any kind. They contend that a fair hear ing will be given every person, but the Real Estate exchange is not con- siderng these statements as will be shown by the contract they are having signed.
 GETTING CONTRACTS SIGNED Although the county board has said | they did not care to talk any more on 1 the subject, and desired to let the whole matter drop until the date for l the hearing the exchange is not con- INA