The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1919-08-21
Taxation of Farm Lands

With considerable higher prices
for farm lands, We must expect an
| increase in taxable valuation. The
farmer cannot complain about this.
| Taxation is based upon values, and
| when values increase the amount of
taxes paid will increase, assuming
that the levy remains the same. And
not be any less; it is likely to be-
more, for the expense of running the
state and nation grows as the cost
OF doing business grows, and taxing
bodies have never achieved a repu-
| tation as economists.
to keep down his taxable valuation,
he ought to see to it that taxable:
land values are not increased faster
than taxable values on other kinds
of property. Here is where the far
mer is weak. He is not looking after
| his own interests as he should.
To illustrates: In Iowa, the tax
able values Of lands are fixed by the.
executive council, which also fixes
the taxable value on railroads and
other public utilities. This is done
at hearing held in Des Moines,
hearing the various railroads are re-
presented by tax experts, men en-
ployed by the year to look after the
interests of the railroads. These ex-
perts are shrewd men. They study
the matter very thoroughly from the
railroad standpoint, and they appear
before the executive council and SUBJ
their argument.
The tax commissioner of the,
Chicago and Northwestern, Mr.. Pol
leys, appeared this year with very
careful studies Of farm and city land
values. He had looked up actual
fp.-v v,,fnp ov16 co 1c in
twenty-eight counties of the state.
In these twenty-eight counties, the
value assessment Of farm land in:
1918, according to his figures, repre-
sented only 3s:17 per cent Of their
true value in january l, 1919. He
been $4,000 transfers of acre pro-
perty in the counties in question,
and that these actual transfers indi--
$l94.s1 per acre Four hundred
forty recent court sales and probate
lappraisals indicated an average as
tire state of Iowa in 1918 was
$6S.s0 per acre: From the statis-
| tics he submitted, he concluded that
he average value of Iowa farm land
on January l, 1919, was $50 per
acre, or little less than three times
as1si Is n0en as the assessed Va'oe IN
Then he submitted statistics con-
| cerning the transfer of lots in 358
cities and villages within the same
| twenty-eight counties: and he as
serted that these transfers indicated
| that the assessment of real estate
in these counties represented over
81 per cent of the sale prices:
value of farm lands and city lots as
a basis, he proceeded to compare the
assessed value Of the Chicago and
Northwestern Railroad, the whole
purpose being to show that the rail-
road assessment was to high in COM
parison with other property.
Arguments based on. careful COM
piled statistics have weight. The ex-
ecutive council pays attention to
such arguments. 1t does not have
time to check them up carefully;
neither does any one appear before
it who has checked up such statistics
or % who n is PREPARED to f,1d sab@it sfatls
| Iowa farmers ought to employ q
tax expert to do for them what they
are not doing for themselves, and
what they, of course, can not do for
themselves: Iowa farmers do not.
want to dodge their share OF the
portionately as other people pay; but
| they ought to make sure that they
| are not paying more in proportion
| than other people pay. The purpose
of taxation is to distribute as equit-
ably as possible the burden of. sup
tionaI affairs. The farmers pay more
taxes than any other class of people.
or any enterrrise within the. state
and county. A few thousand dollarR
spent in employing a thoroughly
competent man to look after their in
hundreds of thousands of dollarE
saved. Farmer