The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1919-12-30
TAX BOARD
IS CLOSING
BUSY YEAR
Fourth Session Handled About
1,1OO Appeals By the
Taxpayers.
fTlMEs BUREAU AT sTATE cAplTAI

TINES BUREAU AT STATE cAPITkLI
1NDIANAPOLIS Ind. Dec. 30.-Frona
one Of the most quiet and unobtrusIRe
Offices in the state house the state board
Of tax commissioners in 1919 blossomed
into one Of the most active departments
Of he state government. The new tax
law not only heaped up work on the
department. requiring a large force OF
assistants and clerks to work out the
multiplicity Of details. but the new 49,
with its rathcr radical changes in tlta
mc7hods Of dealing with the states.
nuanciaI problems served to center the
limelieht of all Hoosierdom on the board
100 APPEALS.
Aside from the tempest III critioiSn.
lneicent to the administration Of The
AeW eci there remains certain net results
iaat arg actual. Under the working If
the tiue cash value system Of assess
'nrnts the state board through the town
SUP and county taxing oniciaIs ana
through the powers the board exercised
~ making increases in valuations. sue
coded in more than doubling the totsi
taN duplicate of Indiana The prope,f,
listed for taxation in 1915 ameunted b
= @S5S.I6l,065. This year the total br.
ufe as II now stands, amounts to $3.50
@eo0S9. The 1919 total was committed
~ the board after the third session anc
moved gain Of l59 per cent. Dur,nr
ene fourth session, when every tax pavel
had the right to appeal to the state baar3
for review and re-assesslnent Of hiS
property, there were about LOO ca-,es
appealed.
EGDUCED VALUATIONS.
The board reduced the valuations o.
many Of the appealed cases. but in sone
ad
the cases appealed 2s3 of them we're fro,,
Marion counts III the Marion county
cases $54s3O was added Is the duplicats
and S4.625 $50 was taken oa. leaying !
net loss to the duplicate OF s4.57o 500
The actual figures for the rest of ~
state has not yet been compiled. but II
'S estimated by members cf the board
hat the net loss to the duplicate az 4
result Of the fourth session viii .ots
exceed Sl0,000.000 With this amount
deducted from the above 1919 total ds1DIj
cate there still remains total of s5.470.
4oo.039, which is stil1 considerably more
Than double the total of 1918.
rEARLY A BILLION.
About one-sixth of the 1919 total dut-
licate consists Of the assessments na,ss
by the state board on the property of
railroads. banks. utilities. telephone and
teio graph companies and the like The
total of the assessments of the properly
over which the state board has original
Jurisdiction is s980.22o.44S. as compared
with s295,o36.257 in 1915.
The 1918 assessments of the state
board included only the property OF the
am and electric railroads. telephone
and telegraph companies. pipe lines aud
sleeping car companies. Under the 1919
act t. state boa~d was given original
Juris banks and trust com
pani. ilities ana buiId,nv ,na
loan ~ssoci 81 The total assess
monts made the state board ara,nst
these three aew classes Of property
amounted to SiS1200.257
INCREASE IN VALUATION.
BY deducting this figure from the totaf
cf the state board original assessments
the figure can be obtained that viii ran-
resent the increased valuations Of tbo
property which was assessed last voar
by the state board. Thus the pronart,
that was assessed in 1918 by the state
board for se95.o00.o00 in round number.
is assessed in 1919 for 99.O2o.191. This
indicates that the assessed valuations Of
railroads. interurbans. telephone and
telegraph companies. pipe lines and
sleeping car companies was Increased
about 10 per cent whereas the total
state duplicate. including these covpor-
atioE assessment increases. is increased
only about 159 per cent When il i
taken into consideration that the l7a
per cent increase is involved in the total
duplicate figure. It IS clearly shown that
other classes Of property. assessed local
ly. were not increased in proportion -
the boost made by the state board on
the property for which il is solely re-
sponsihle as far as assessing is con-
cornod
The increase in these corporation as
scssments cannot BE accounted for oil
the ground that the amount Of property
continued on page fiVc1-