The Fayette falcon. (Somerville, Tenn.) 190?-current, 1919-09-19
Tax Assessments

If any onss has believed in the mis-
representations, industriously and as
siduously circulated TO the effect that
the assessment laws passed by the last
Legislature were directed alone at the
farmer. the work which we are doing
and the results which we are accom-.
plishishing in bringing to light the un-
taxed and the under taxed corporate
wealth of Tennessee, Is surely suffi-
cient to show that such reports are false
and misleading and that those who are
circulating them are insincere.
! have jist received the completed
proof taken In an East Tennessee Coun.
ty, and it shows the following astound.
ing situation:
The entire County was assessed In
1918 at $732, 600 co. The proof which
we have just completed, shows the prop.
erty of the County to be worth 81, ,584,
$500. This is an increase in the en-.
tire County Of sc. 1862, 337.OO OF this
increase, $5,O34, 1890 represents the
increase on coal lands belonging to five
corporations. We found in this coun.
ty 6S, ,525 acres of coal land belonging
to corporations assessed at 1892, 965. 90.
Toe value of this land as shown by
competent expert testimony is SIS, ,277.
l14.O0. Thh valuation was established
by taking the depositions Of mining tx
perts who testified from engineering
d. 4ta based on their knowledge of coal
deposits on this land. These coal prop.
ertles were assessed in 1918 at abou,
A per cent of their value, while the
farm lands in this same County. and
the small homes, were assessed at more
than 40 per cent, which means that Il e
farmer and the small home owner in
that Couaty are paying ten times as
much tax on the same amount of prop
erty as these coal corporations are pa,
ing. This is not only true of the farm
ers and small home owners in that coun-
ty, but the average home owner
throughout Tennessee, is paying from
six to eight times as much taxes on the
same amount of property as these coal
corporations are paying. The property
belonging to these corporations repre-
sents about two.thirds Of the wealth
of the entire County. with an assess.
ment against them Of A per cent Of
their value. The property belonging
TO these corporation in this county is
worth more than the assessment in
that County. eumbined with the assess
ment against Scott, Unicoi, Union and
Rhes.
We sra not making any dcmsgceic
attack ON corporations and on the in
dsstriss os eur STATE, and cur work is
not cslcnlafed in any degree. and will
not have the effect of driving any such
industries out Of the Statr, or OF re-
tarding in the least degree, their de-
velopment Of the resources Of our State.
We are pursuing one unbending pol
icy Of making every taxpayer. whether
individual corporation, whether the
owner Of large wealth or Of small prop
erty the same straight line. II, Of
course, viii be understood without my
pointing II out, that under the opei alton
Of the Sliding Scale Law. every homes,
taxpayer Of the State il benefited
when we dig up this untsxed and gross-
ly undertaxed wealth of the State, and
put Il on the tax books. Our purpose
is 70 see that an assessment is estab-
lished in Tennessee that viii result In
each taxpayer paying bis own taxes.
instead Of certain classes having not
only to pay their own taxes. but to
part Of their nelehbors taxes also. "A.
v. Louthau.