The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1919-01-18


many persons whose property .r<&>s not I;
l>cariisg its just proportion of taxation.
and much Of it bad escaped taxation
altget.ler II was impossible for the
Tar; Comm ission 10 assess and equal
THE State at once Real Estate
,0,ri.i net be assessed unit! 1918. rs
the statutes provide for the assessment
CT real estate once every f0Gr years.
The commission selected banks IS
tna first class Of propIty. as the facts
regarding them We're easily obtain
able. AS it was Impossible 10 equal
izs Al! classes of property at oae time,
il was deemed rest not 70 disturb the
relative assessments Of Banks and
other properly. and III oldcr to do !
l. this tne commission ascertained what !
the average assessment of banks was !
al the tine it began its work. This j
average w<,& found TO he fortE-two per |
cent Of the actual value Of the shares,
iand the comm ission applied that per
centage to bank shares throughout the /
STATE. Before this was done the as
Isanlc co,tnty ran from less than
twenty per cent 10 more ti2an Sky i
tpel. cent of Ih"ir value. Til, average
assessment Of bank SHARES IN one
county was as 10" as tWcnty-ninc
lper cent, while in another county
the average was as high as ninety
per cent of the actual value. 1t was
found that one bank was assessed as
low as nine per cent OF It's value.
Nov. bank stocks are uniformly as
sasSed throughout tho STATE AZ forty
tw" per cent.
rhe Tax Commission then took up
the equalization OF the assessment OF
livestock. The assessment OF nu:es
varied from twenty-cislt dollar; to
Ione hundred; dollars. The assessed
E:aIue Of horses varied from an aver
age of. ,wcnty-seven dollars in one
county TO ninety-two dollars in
another county; cattle from ;i:l aver
age Of seven dollars IN one county 10
an average Of fourteen dollars IN
{ another Tue effort oil the con:nls-
: sion has been 10 pat &ucn livestock
on q forty-two per cont. basis, taking
, each county as a who!e--but equal
2 ling the value of such stock among
individuals has not been effected be-
-icausc many of Tie local assessing
aufhorities have rot carried forward
I, that work.
9 The Tax Commission next tool, u;'
9 Tho assessment OF cotton mills. ETs!ca
varied from twenty per cent OF their
. value 10 seventy per cent. All cotton
mills have NOT been placed by tii:
: com mission on a forty-t!To per cent.
: basis Of the actual ,alce. The rcsu!;
! has 5ncn that some mills have been
= increased from twenty per cent. 70
, forty-two per cent, while other mills
= have been reduced from seventy per
: cent. to forty-two per cent. The net
result hos shown an increase in the
a taxable :aluc.
: similar discrepancies existed in
fertilizer plants and oil mills. These
have all been placed on forty-tWo
pen, cent basis.
. IN The case Of power plants it was
found that thc average assessment
j, oi sucl? property w3s about
twenty per cent. OF their val
i, lia I':ln commission by incre;;i-
;G@ the same t. forty-two per cent
added more than six million. five
! hundred thousand dollars to their as
S5.ssed value In o,lc case :: power
J, ,iant was assessed at less than ten
iDe,' cent OF the valpc thereof. The
com N. .>;sion increased The SAM. 10
EGlty-two p'r c..a1. Street railways
;rc Included under The head "f
: power plants.
+ In 1878 the commission tool: up the
/ assessment of farm lands, which, as
e stated. could only be reassessed once
: IN -four years, the four-year period
c having been reached in 1918, that is
:. tie first time that real estate could be
. assessed since the creation OF the com
I mission This was the mo t difficult
{. task the commission had It under
+ taken TIE commission ascertained
e the average value of farm lands in
J, each county from all available sources
Of information. The United States
. census figures for 1910 We're examined.
The price paid fol land through ju-
dieial sales and private sales was also
scrptiniZed After thus ascertaining
. the average value OF lands by coun-
ties forty-two per cent. therefore be
] ing the basis Of assessment for ali 9TH
er property which the commission had
eGualiZed, the same percentage was
l applied to the vai1le Of farm lands.
The result " s that in some counties
no Increase in the average assessed
: value OF farm lands was made. While
. The general increase ranged from ten
per cent TO one hundred and fifty per
cent OF the former average assess-
ment.
For illustration. s7.O7n.72o. the as
aessmcnt for Union County in 1917, at
8 1-2 mills, would be $G7.171.S4. 81
30T,420. the assessment for 1913, att
s IA mills, would be $64.41 III.
.iiich means shat Union county. un-
.lc: the rcassesSlnant By thc Tax Com
mission viii contribute to the sup
|ort of the State government So, go
g. less i:,an Il would have had there
Dcen 10 re-. Ss:e.ssS!. .lcni.