The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1919-02-01
BIG TAX VALUES
ARE UNCOVERED
Tax Commissions Report to
General Assembly Covering
Work of Four Years.
FORTY SEVEN MILLION
PLACED ON TAX BOOKS
Large Part of the Increase is
Due to Assessments Being
Equalized.
Large Part of the Increase is
Due to Assessments Being
Equalized.

mate Increase of assessments on
banks. textile industries, railroads
street railways, light, heat and power
companies, fertilizer factories, oil
mills, insurance and trust companies
and telephone and telegraph com
panies for the past four-year period
is S26,740,4 ,47s, and, in addition, S47,-
OS7,415 has been added to the real
property in South Carolina since 1914,
according to the annual report of the
State Tax Commission to the General
Assembly, which is now ready Tor
Distribution.
The report says it is true that a
large part Of this Increase is due to
new Or added property, but also
large part is OF account of assess
naents being equalized with such 9TH
er properties, as well as adding prop
erty which has escaped taxation. The
report continues with the statement
that, acting under statute, IN 1913,
it went into the equalization Of farm
lands IN the State, and here 1t was
found that very great inequalities ex-
listed among the various counties OF
the State I'm some few counties the
assessment of lands was fair and rea-
sonable,'' said the report, but in
others--sone Of the larger and richer
eounties-it was assessed at a very
low percentage of its real value"
The report says tnat it is the pur-
pose of the commission to undertake,
during the coming year, the equaliza-
ton of assessments among individ-
uals, provided adequate facilities are
provided.
: The report of the State Tax Com
mission is of interest particularly at
this time as there is a concerted
fight to be made against it in the
general assembly. A bill providing
for board Of assessors already is
under debate in the house Of repre-
sentatives, and it is thought that this
legislative drive will be pro-
fonged one as the State Tax Commits
sion has. some warm friends in the
lower body.
The following is the main body OF
the report:
TT is obvious to one who gives The
matter passing, thought that it was an
lmpessibiIity for the work Of assess
ing and equalizing all property in the
State, to be done in one year, so what
has been done towards that end has
been. by a gradual yearly process as
will appear by. our former annual re-
:pcrts. This process should be con-
gtinued,x and. more extensively and in
.tensively, in the future and until there
may be a. reasonable assurance that
leach county is contributing its fair
share to. the support of the State
government and that each individual
taxpayer is contributing to the pub
nc revenues only That just and fair
amount with which he is chargeable
under an impartial administration Of
the law.
This commission has given its spe-
:cial efforts for three years to assess
ing banks. textile industries, railroads.
street railways, light, heat and power
companies, fertilizer factories, Oil
mills. insurance and trust companies
and telephone and telegraph compa-
MES.
The approximate Increase Of as
sessment on the. above properties for
the four-year period past is sZ6,74o,-
47s. And incidentally it may be
mentioned here that in addition to
the above mentioned amount $47,oSf,-
.4l5 has been added to the assessed
value of real property since 1914, in
Z Guiding the real estate owned by the
above mentioned corporations, which
is included in the increase first above
named. It is true that considerable
part of the above increase is due TO
new or added property, but large
part is on account of assessments be-
ing equalized with other such prop
s5erties, as we'll as adding property
which had escaped taxation. Having
to fairly satisfactory extent succeed
ed in eoualizing the above classes OF
fDroperty, which constitute a large
portion of the taxable property OF the
State, the commission, on account OF
the year 1918 being the period fixed
by statute for reassessing real estate,
took up the matter of assessing farm
lands as being perhaps the larger in
value OF any other single class Of
property in the State. It was found
that very great inequalities existed
between the several counties Of the
State as to farm lands. In some few
counties the assessment Of lands was
fair and reasonable, but in others,
some Of the larger and richer counties
lit was assessed at a very low percent
age of its real value.
cit was impossible for the commits
sion to undertake to equalize land
values as between individuals OF a
county. That matter was left to the
county authorities upon whom was
urged the necessity Of equalizing be-
tween individuals, so that each lndl-
vidual would bear his proper propor-
ton of the tax burden in like man
ner as each county. It is the purpose