Carroll County democrat. (Huntingdon, Tenn.) 188?-1971, 1919-10-10
TO TENNESSEE
TAX PAYERS
Statement of the New Tax
Law and How in Effects
the Tax Payer

as to the method of putting the 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 Tax Statistician and his corps
of assistants, under the direction OF
the State Board of Equalization, is
an assessment for 1920 and is final
This is an error. The testimony now
being taken is in no sense an assess.
ment. The Chief Tax Statistician
and his corps of assistants are moi
assessors, and, in fact, have no au'
thority under the law to make an as.
sessment. We are ascertaining the
actual value of the property through.
out the State, in order that we may
discover and bring to light the un
assessed and grossly under-assessed
property of this State, that the bur
den which the average taxpayer Of
the State would otherwise have t.
bear, may be lightened, and that the
taxpayer who has been escaping his
part of the burden may be made tC
deal honestly and justly with 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 law
into operation, | am submitting 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 coun-
ty in the State, on or before the tenth
day of January, 1920, and this proof
will bring to his attention the grossly
under-assessed and the unassessed
property of his county, and will be
used by the Tax Assessor as basis
and as a guide in making his assess
ment in 1920. The County Tax AS
SCISSOR will perform the duty of max
ing the assessment, and each taxpayer
will be given an opportunity, when
the Tax Assessor is making assess
ment, to have any errors corrected
which we have made in taking the
proof, and after he has completed the
assessment and made the correction
of any errors which we may now
make in taking this proof, his assess
ment will then go to the local County
Board of Equalization, as heretofore,
and the taxpayer will be given the
second opportunity of having any err
rors corrected which may still exist
in the assessment. A copy of the
assessment will then be returned to
the Chief Tax Statistician, and while
it is in the hands of the Chief Tax
Statistician, and before he makes his
final report to the State Board, any
taxpayer will be given the third OPP
portunity to have any errors still ex-
isting corrected. The Chief Tax Sta
tistician will then submit the assess
ment, with his report thereon, to the
State Board of Equalization for final
action, and any taxpayer will again
be given an opportunity before the
State Board of Equalization, and any
complaint which he has to make about
his assessment will be heard by the
State Board. From this, it will be
seen that at every stage of the as
sessment, the utmost caution has been
used in framing the law and in adopt
ing method of administering same
that will cautiously guard and protect
each taxpayer in the State against an
unjust assessment. 1t is through these
different processes that this assess
ment must go before finally made Of
fetal, and through such processes we
should certainly be able to effect a
fair and equitable assessment Of the
property of the State.
1t was realized by the trainers of |
the law that perfect assessment
could not be made in day, and
could not be made by one man or one
set of men, but should represent the
joint action Of the local authorities
and the State Board, in order that
the inequalities may be as complete
ly as possible eradicated from our
system We are aware of the fact
that different witnesses in different
districts have different ideas of vahe,
and it will be the duty of the local
County Tax Assessors and the County
Boards of Equalization to reconcile
these differences and equalize the as.
sessments between individuals and be-
tween civil districts within the county
using the proof which we submit to
them as a guide. We also realize that
local County Tax Assessors and the
County Boards of Equalization will