The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-12-03
Estate BOARD IS
SUPREME AS TO
I. REALTY VALUES
County Assessor and Boards
Of Equalization Must Be
Guided by State Appraisal.
Will Get Comparisons.

WV wv NOlIIpul 'SV''S'
Since the appraisal OF real estate by |
agents e. .he new state board Of |
equalization was begun in Shelby eoun-
ty, property owners, who only had a
vague idea OF the scope Of the new
law, have begun TO look up its PRO
visions and attempt to find out how
they personally are going to be AZ
feCted
The taxation committee OF the cham
her Of Commerce has been authorized
to investigate both the working Of the
law and to compare the appralsement
of property in other counties with that
SO far completed IN Shelby county, in
order to ascertain whether there Is any
ground for the widespread complaint
that is coming from owners Of land
In the county outside of Memphis, or
for the fears OF owners Of realty In.
side the city limits that the antlci-
pated increases in valuation for assess
ruent are 10 be SO drastic al has been
| feared.
Most business men are agreed that
| II the theory of the law-that OF an
| equal assessment throughout the state,
| on an actual cash yaluattonr-is carried
| out impartially, while there may be IN
| dividual instances Of apparent injustice,
| the counties and the state as a whole
| will benefit because Of the heavy de-
| crease In the tax rate,
II was figured by those who framed
| the law and by Gov, Roberts, who
strongly urged Its passage, that IN
| many thousands of instances, property
owners would actually pay less under
| the, new law than they did formally
| under a low assessment and a high tax
| rate.
But there have been thousands Of
instances In which the appraisal Of val
| ues has shown increases of from three
| 10 10 times the FORMER valuation In
| such cases. the owners naturally will
| protest and will endeavor to have the
| appraisal lowered before any final &C.
| ton is taken by the state board,
How Law Operates.
The law is a lengthy one. II SCENE
| to give the state board OF equalization
! what amounts to absolute power in fix
| ing the values OF real estate In Ten
nessee, The appraisal which Is now
going on in Memphis ana Shelby county
| has been carried out In every other
county. The agents Of the board check
up the recorded sales of land for two
years past; take proof from residents
Of tho communities In which they are
at work, and from the combined proof
as to cash value and the value shown
by sales of record, make their appraisal.
These figures will be submitted TO
the county assessors before the tenth
OF January, to be used as guide in
making their assessments for 1920 The
county assessors are not absolutely
bound by the state boards appraisal
but If they assess the land in their
county at q figure that on the whole,
Ia much less than the state valuation
and are sustained by the county boards
OF equalization. the state board, on mo-
tice to the chairman of the county
court and the county clerk, may give
notice Of an intention to change the
county figures.
This may be done as to a, single ward.
or civil district, or as to the county as
n whole. The county authorities have
right to protest and make proof IN
support of such protest, but the state
board is supreme and can certify the
assessment back to the county board OF
equalization, requiring the county board
to re-equalize the county or any part
OF 1t, Even that second report, may DO
either adopted, or modified by the
state board OF equalization as justice
!. may require" ....
That Is the language of the act, and
| 1t thus appears that no matter what
the increase, II the state boardeupholds
It, there can be no recourse.
1t is for that reason that VIM, ii.
FitzHugh, president Of the Chamber OF
Commerce, wishes to have an lnvestl-
cation made before final figures AZ
proved by the state board as after
final action. there will be slight chance
Of securing any reduction from the
state boards figures.
Elias Gates, chairman OF the O. OF e.,
taxation committee, has not yet secur-
ed a statistician, but hopes TO have a
man at work by the coming week.
Same County Raises.
1t has been stated that in the county
as 4 whole, outside of Memphis the
average increase In valuation has heen
| about 800 per cent.
Out in the First civil district, around
Wilmington, kerrville and Woodstock,
q number of farms have been Increased
much more than that. .n
This Is not to say that the figures
of the agents of the state equalization
board are not just In many instances
farm land and also unimproved land
has undoubtedly been assessed at Tar
too low q figure In fact, II may be
remembered that when W. 7. Condor,
state and county assessor. in 1918
raised the valuation OF farm lands so
that the increased valuation n lne
county proper was more than $4,000 zoo,
| there were some walls from property
owners that might have been heard
from Wolf river TO Nonconnah bottoms,
But some Of those same property own
ers are now facing an appraiser oy tne
| state board that VIII make MI SoH
dons increases look by comparison ike
copper cent. .,
Judge J. W. Palmer owns several
fine farms out in the First district IN
combination of several farms which
contain in all 800 acres. the valuation
fixed by the county assessor last year
was slf $50. or about S12 an acre.
The state board agents think that
land is worth $50 an acre. and have
90 valued it, making Judge Palmers
valuation on that particular ss0 acres
i An. 900 or an increase OF flVe tunes
the former assessment.
| ]. W. McFcrrins Of acres. assessed
| at 81 1895, is increased about seven
times, or to 500 an acre making 49,"
100.
| r. T,'Palmer owns S. acres, now AS:
sessed at 1850 The state appraisal
| is at $3.50 an acre. or $le'Epe, or ten
/ times the former valuation.
/ Less valuable farms In that dlstrict
are yariousiy assessed at from $2O to
| S75 an acre As rule those assessed
at $40 an acre are increased generally
| 10 500 Most Of the land on Island Az,
! some of which was assessed "a merely
wild land, at from Sc to s. an acre, IL
raised to 500 an acre.
| These are only a few examples OF N.
creases in the county which have led
/ owners Of city property to sit up and
take notice Of the working OF the new
taxNr