The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1919-09-26
STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION
Work of Assessment Board Explained
to Public

as to the method Oh putting sJne new
assessment laws into operation. Ger
tain taxpayers appear to be .laboring
under the impression that the work
which is now being done by the Chief
Statistician and his corps of assist
ants, under the direction of the State
Board of Equalization, is an assess
ment for 1920 and is final. This is an
an error. The testimony now being
taken is in no sense an assessment.
The Chief Tax Statistician and his
corps of assistants are not Assessors,
and in fact, have no authority under
the law to make an assessment We
are ascertaining the actual value of
the property throughout the State,
in order that we may discover and
bring to light, the una3sessed and
the grossly underassessed property
of this State, that the burden which
the average taxpayer of the State
would otherwise have to bear, may
be lightened, and that the taxpayer
who has been escaping his part of
the burden, may be made to deal
honestly and justly with his neigh
bors and with the State. In order
that the taxpayers throughout the
State may understand the exact meth
cd to be employed in putting this
statement to the public.
A copy of the proof which we are
now taking will be submitted in de-
tail to the Tax Assessor in each
County in the State, ON or before
the tenth day Of january, 1920,
and this proof will bring to his at
tention the grossly undcrassessed
and the unassessed property of hist
County, and will be used by the Tax
Assessor as a basis and as guide
in making his assessment in 1920.
The County Tax Assessor will per-
form the duty of making the assess
ment, and each taxpayer will be Civ
en- the second opportunity when the
Tax Assessor is making the assessment,
to have any errors corrected which
we have made in taking the proof,
and after he has completed the assess
ment and made the correction OF any
errors which we have made in taking the
proof his assessment will thon go to
the local County Board of Equaliza-
ton, as heretofore. and the tax
payer will be given the second oppor-
tunity of having any error corrected
which may still exist in the assess
ment. A copy Of the assessment will
then be returned to the Chief Tax
Statistician, andd before he makes
his final report to the State Board,
any taxpayer will ge biven the
opportunity to have any errors still
existing corrected. The Chief Tax
Staiistician will then submit the
assessment, with his report thereon,
to the State Board of Equalization
for final action and any taxpayer VIII
again be given the opportunity be-
fore the State Board of Equalization
and any complaint which he has &c
made about his assessment will be
heard by the State Board. From this
II will be seen that at every stage OF
the assessment, the utmo;t caution
has been used in framing the law
end in adopting q method OF admin
istering same, that cautiousl,
guard and protect each taxpayer II
the State against an unjust assess
mont. 1t is through these differen
processes that this assessment mus
90 before finally made official, ant
through such processes we should
certainly be able to effect far an'
eauitable assessment Of the propert!
of the State.
1t was realized by the trainers o
the law that perfect assessment
could not be made in a day, AM
could not be made by one man o.
one set of men, but should represen
the Joint action of the local author
titles and the State Board, IN ordel
that the inequalities may be as com
pletely as possible eradicated IRON
our system. We are aware Oh TN
fact that different witnesses i'll din
erent Districts have different idea'
of value, and it will be the duty 0
the Local County Tax Assessors ah'
the County Board of Equailzatioh y
eouaIize the assessment bs'ween In
diyiduals and between Civil District
within the County, using the proo
which we submit to them as a guide
We also realize that local COUNTY
Tax Assessors and County BOARDS 0
rehabilitation will have dineren
ideas of values in the different Coun
ties. and that is the very reason ina