The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1920-10-26
RESULT TO NEW MEXICO FROM
THE MINE OUTPUT TAX LAW
By GEORGE S. DOWNER

1t has been charged generally by the democratic
speakers and the press that the mine output law
was the result Of, or was brought about by a deep.
laid plot Of the mining interests to avoid paying
their share of taxes. IL has been further stated
that under II they are, or have been escaping tax
alton. This Is absolutely false, and nothing dem.
onstratcs II better than the tax rolls themselves
which are open to the inspection of the general
public.
| have just completed a personal examination
and check of the tax rolls with reference TO the
assessment of the mining companies for the past
six years, and the resulting figures are interest.
ing. For my proposes / took the principal min.
ing companies of the state, representing probably
80 per cent of all mining property in the state,
and examined their tax assessments or valuations
for the years 1914 to 1919 inclusive. The com
panies which | used, and which, incidentally, are
the ones against whom the principal democratic
attack has been made are:
For Grant county-Chino Copper Co. Eighty.
five Mining Co., Empire Zinc Co., Phelps. Dodge
corporation.
For Soeorro county-Ozark Smelling & Mining
Co, Empire Zine Co., Mogollon Mines Co., Socorro
Mining & Milling Co., and Carthage Fuel Co.
For Mckinley county--Dismond Coal Co., Gal
lup Southwestern Coal Co, Gallup American Coal
Co.
For Colfax county-St. Louis, Rocky Mountain
& Pacific Co., and Stag Canyon Fuel Co. phelps
Dodge corporation)
| divided each company's assessment for each
year into three parts, that is, (1) the assessment
for the mineral value Of land, (2) the assessment
of all other property, that is, surface value Of
land, buildings, machinery, personal property,
etc, and (3) the total assessment for mineral
value and other property. ! began in the year
1914, because that was the last year in which the
mineral values were fixed on the pcr-acre basis
by the local assessors. That year was also the
last one in which local assessors had q free rein
over the matter of valuing' property in general.
1t will be remembered that in 1915 the so-called
mine output law was passed, whereby the tax COM
mission was given original power to determine the
mineral value Of land owned by producing com
panies, using the net production of such compan-
les as a basis. Ii will also be remembered that
the general law passed in 1915, which created the
tax commission, granted such commission certain
supervisory powers over the valuations fixed by
the local assessors.
Now ] used all OF the years subsequent to-, and
including the year 1915, in order TO find out what
effect, if any, these new laws had on the valuations
of the mining companies.
| divided the valuations as between the mineral
value and the land and the other mining property,
for the reason, that the tax commission had orig
inal jurisdiction of the mineral values, whereas
the assessors had original jurisdiction over the
other property. My idea was to ascertain wheth-
ct OF not ny using inc output methOu LOT ueter-
mining the mineral value, instead of the per-acre
method, or guess of the assessor, greater or lesser
values were procured. The following figures will
demonstrate the result:
In 1914 the total value of the mineral lands held
by the companies | have named and fixed by the
local assessor was $1,477 1855. In 1915 the total
mineral value of the same lands, using the output
method, was fixed at $9,731 ,484 by the tax com
mission, AN INCREASE OF $s,254,2l9.
! In 1914 the other mining property Of the com.
| panies | have named was fixed by the local asses
data secured in making output reports, as well as
the general supervisory powers of the newly-cre-
ated tax commission, the values of these other
properties were raised to $9,337, l9l, or AN IN.
CREASE OF $2,390,s16.
In 1914 the total of all mining property of these
companies was $S,424, 1873, whereas, in 1915, un.
der the new laws, the totahvaluc Of the same com