The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1918-02-01
Assessors of State Have Made Marked
Improvement in Fixing True Values

Jefferson City, Mo-, Jan. 27,-Un-
usual disclosures touching the laxity
Of the taxation system which pre-
vailed in the la counties Of Missouri
in the past quarter of century are
contained in official reports made by
county clerks to the State Tax Com
mission.
These reports reveal that the laws
requiring the assessment of property
at it's true value in money were COM
pletely ignored by the assessors. These
officers assessed property as they
pleased. The taxable valuation fixed
by them upon the different classes of
property ranged between Is and go
per cent of actual value.
Assessments in the various coun-
ties were not even uniform on the
same classes of property. Some of
the counties assessed land as low as
Is per cent, while in others land was
rated as high as so per cent Of &C
tual value. In none of the counties,
the reports reveal, was real estate,
personal and other property assessed
at its true value in money" as the
statutes require.
While Investigations conducted by
railroads as an argument against
higher assessments, and the inquiries
made by st. Louis business and civic
organizations showed gross inequal-
tiles and disparities between prop
erty valuations in the various coun-
ties and in st. Louis, this condition
was never admitted by the county au-
thorities until the State Tax Com
mission demanded to know the per-
centage of assessments made to ac-
tual value.
The only uniformity among the
counties in assessments was in the
assessment of bank stock and money,
notes and bonds, these generally be-
ing placed upon basis Of SO per
cent. Bank stock was assessed in that
manner under an order of the State
Board of Equalization to correct in
some measure the injustice to banks.
These institutions in some counties
were assessed, until this order was
made, on a basis of full value. Most
of the county assessors then adopted
a policy of assessing such money,
notes and bonds as were returned to
so per cent instead of full value.
Many Counties Bankrupt. 49,
The State and many of the counties
were bankrupt when the State Tax
Commission was created by the For
ty-Ninth General Assembly in 1917.
Under the urging and insistence of
the commission assessors in more than
100 counties have attempted to
raise their assessments to the true
value in money"
That a compleete revolution of the
tax system of Missouri has been
brought about by the work of the
State Tax Commission is revealed by
certified reports of assessments from
several of the counties and unofficial
reports from rs to 100 counties.
Public service corporations, includ-
ing the railroads, bridges and tele-
graph and telephone systems, as
| sessed by the State, and other utili-
ties rated by the local taxing author
tiles, have apparently caught the spir-
it of the full assessment and have
returned their property for taxation
at from two to three times their as
sessment of 1917. The total taxable
valuation of real estate and personal
property as fixed by the State Board
Of Equalization, and the property of
railroads, telegraph and telephone
systems and bridges for taxes in 1917
was only 1885,, $751; 66.
This year Missouri tax payers, in
Guiding public service corporations,
will pay assessments upon valua-
ton of not less than $4,000, 900, 900,
and this figure may be topped by an
additional billion when complete fig
ures are compiled February 20.
This estimate is conservative and
is based upon the official assessment
returns of approximately dozen
counties and the sworn tax returns
made by several railroad corporations.
Ten Missouri counties raised their
assessments from $S7,091, 273, as fixed
by the State Board of Equalization in
1917, to $685., 1912 The assess
ments made for this years taxes are
more than three times as great as the
assessments upon which taxes were
paid in 1917.
The appended comparative table
shows the heavy increase of the as
sessment made in 1917 and certified
to the State Tax Commission as a
basis for this years taxes and the
taxable valuation fixed by the assess
ors in 1916 for the taxes in 1919:
1916. 1917.
Andrew IS 9,536,148 $26391 ,2SS
Clinton $50. 7,953,475 20,388,363
Coonor O Eat o11 % 25Q oo5