Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1916-03-15
MARSHALL COUNTY
ASSESSORS meet
Over Thirty-five Present at School for
Assessors Conducted at Court
House Thursday by State Tax
Commission.

0~~~V
Commission.
The assessors of the county held
meeting at the court house on the 9th
of March for the purpose Of conferr-
ing with the tax commission in re-
gard to their duties under the laws of
the state.
Mr.. Lord, chairman of the commits
sion, was present and explained fully
all of the laws governing an asses
sor's duties. He reminded them that
they had taken an oath to perform
their duties in accordance with the
laws Of the state and urged them to
be true to this solemn obligation. He
said that **tax paying can probably
never be made a pleasant duty; but
if taxpayers could feel fairly certain
that their tax money was honestly
handled and wisely spent, and that
the property of their neighbors was
assessed the same as their own would
probably hear less murmuring and
fewer complaints.
'"The assessment laws of the state
now requires that household goods
and wearing apparel shall be assess
ed at rs per cent of their true and
full value in money; merchandise,
farm products, live stock. machinery
of all kinds and farm lands at 33 1-3
ner cent of their value; and all other
property including plated village and
city real estate, and bank stock at 40
per cent Of it's full value.
ut is so clear that it is self-evident
that if the property of every taxpay-
er in every taxing district in the state
was placed on the assessment books
and valued according to the same
rule the result would be a fair and
uniform assessment all over the state:
and this is just what will happen if
the property Of every citizen is asses
sed according to law. We are think
ing, therefore, that the law must be
carried out by every assessor just as
it is written.
"The opinion is quite prevalent
throughout the state that in some
way not clearly understood the as
SCISSOR is responsible for high taxes.
Taxes are unquestionably high; but
the assessor has had no more to do
With making them so than any other
citizen. The duty Of the assessor is
simply to value the property upon
which taxes are levied The assess
ment is simply factor to determine
how much each person shall contrib
ute to- the expense of government.
but it does not determine the amount
of the tax. It is the amount of mon
ey that is voted for public purposes
that determines whether taxes shall
be high or low. Large amounts of
money-it matters not what for
taxes will inevitably be high. but the
assessor as an officer has absolutely
nothing to say about how much mon
ey shall be spent. The amount of
money to be raised by taxation is de-
ternined by town meetings, school
meetings, village and city councils,
county board. the legislature and by
the people themselves-not by the as
SCISSOR.
"There will be raised in this state
this year by direct taxation for school
road, local, county and state purposes
the enormous sum Of $4,000, ,000
Whether the assessor does his work
we'll or whether he does it poorly, and
whether he lists all Of the property
in his district or only part of it, prac-
tically all of this very large amount
of money will be raised just the same
Except as to very small fraction OF
this amount nothing that the assessor
can do will add to or subtract from il
a single penny.
'But while the assessor has prac.
tically nothing to do with making the
taxes of a community high or low he
has nearly everything to do with
making them fair and just. From the
standpoint of the Individual taxpayer
he is the most important officer who
has anything to do with taxation. II
he complies with his oath Of office
and does his work in the way that the
law provides, approximate justice will
prevail among all Of the taxpayers o1
his district; but if on the other hanc
he departs from the standard fixed
by law, or if he omits any consider.
able amount Of property from his list
his assessment will inevitably abound
J in the grossest inequalities and result
in the rankest injustice. Taxpayers
whose property is not all listed anG
assessed will pay less than then
share, and taxpayers whose property
is all assessed will pay more thar
they ought to.
"In nearly every community ia,
lodging is resorted to most by people
who are best able to pay. It is not
the citizen of limited means whose
property is all in sight and easily
found by the assessor who escapes
Such people as a rule pay taxes OF
levery dollars worth Of property the!
have in the world. It is among peo
|ple with bulging pocket-books wher,