The Sun. [volume] (Price, Utah) 1915-1932, 1920-04-30
WOULD ASSESS MONEY
IN BANKS AT FULL
VALUE
A United States Army MAN
DISPUTE BETWEEN STATE AND
AN Assessor.
May Be That County Official viii
Be Hailed Into Court to Make An
Ending Of Bad Middle - More
Funds For Carrying On the Elk.
penses Of the Commonwealth.

Gov. Simon Bamberger saws it is
probable that the state board of equal.
ization and assessment will ask the
supreme court for a ruling on the dis
pute that has arisen between il and
James h. Lynch, the assessor of Salt
Lake county, concerning the assess.
meht status Of money The state
board takes the view that business
men almost universally treat money
on commercial deposit. in banks as
ready cash, while Lynch holds that
such cash is a solvent credit The law
requires that cash on hand shall be "a.
sessed at its full market value. the
merchant being permitted to substract
from his Solvent credit" or the
amounts which the business itself
owes. In the event that the supreme
court shall rule in accordance with
the view held by the state board Of
equalization, that cash on hand shall
be assessed at It's full market value
with the exemptions noted, IL is est.
mated that the assessed valuation OF
salt Lake county alone will be in.
creased about Ss,O0O.O00 this yenr
Discussion Of the question came nm
at q session Of the state rond commits.
sion last week al which were present
members or the Salt Lake county
commission. At that time the gov.
ernor announced intention Of the
equalization board 10 make the test
m court, but Secretary William Bailey
says that no actual steps toward this
end have been taken ~ vet. "Thsrc
~ this much 10 say ON the general
situation with regard TO state revcn.
mes ut this time" declares Bailey.
The board will use every effort
under the law 10 get all the prDpcrtv
possible ON the assessment rolls. In
other words, the state must have the
money Present estimates are that
the revenues of the general fund will
fail short Of the expenditures by
SsO9,OOO, and the situation IL not inn
proving as time goes ON. To raise
that amount the state board would
have 10 increase the assessed ynlun.
ton Of the state by 90 per cent on ey-
cry item. Such action h, Of course,
impossible. But we shall use every
legitimate means at our disposal 10
Keep the general fund out Of bank
ruptcy.
1T looks now as though the state =
total assessed valuation for 1920 will
be about the same as that for 1919.
when 10 was around $500 900 600. The
Reconsideration of farm lands, with
their reappraisnl, will add about s25,-
100000 10 the assessed values of farm
lands IN the state. property which has
been most generally underyalued ns
class. We expect hlso an increase Of
about slO,O00.0OO in the value of mor-
chandife In Utah. Coal land yalun-
tions under the new plan rs deter
mined by law will probably add an
other S2,0OO,OOO 10 the total. Against
these increases must be- offset a de-
crease of about s30.00O,OO0 IN the as
sessed valuation Of mines, owing TO
the falling off in their proceeds dur
ing 1919, This is unavoidable. There
is also falling off ia live stock as-
hessment of some SO,0O0,O00 coming.
1.-THE net result, therefore, is that
the assessed valuation of the state
will be about the same this year as
last. The state board is looking for
every chance Il has under the law TO
add 10 the states assessment. The
public utilities within It's jurisdiction
have been carefully scanned, and on
one item alone-that of rolling stock
"A raise of % per cent over last
years figures has been ordered. Such
an increase is not possible equitably
ON the right of way and other classes
of property owned by railroads, for
example.
1.-The board expects soon 10 con
clude its work as 10 policy. The actual
work Of reaching the assessed yalu-
alton figures of property within the
jurisdiction of the state board, how
ever, will not be concluded until the