The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-12-20
LIVELY TAX MEET
AT isis FRIDAY

DeIcar Effort Made to
Withhold Payment
Of Taxes
On Friday afternoon, people at.
tending the tax meeting filled the
u IStS theatre to its full seating ~capa.
city.rD.t III. Btethan was eisctHd chair.
man and T, ]. Bennet Of Shelley,
secretary. Mr.. Kennedy In stating
the purpose Of the meeting said that
this year great deal Of the tax
money or most OF the tax money
Will be absorbed in the payment Of
county warrants held by people out
side the county and In that way the
bulk Of the tax money Will leave this
county when it is paid. He said that
II people let their taxes 60 delin-
Quent It will mean that the money
will remain in this county and there
will be more capital in the county to
finance the state work and the 1921
crops. He favors the plan of letting
the taxes 60 delinquent to keep the
money at home to finance the crops
and said the loss of the delinquency
OF the taxes would more than be made
up by the gain on financing the crops.
That would increase the amount of
quick assets In the county that could
be handled thru the banks and the
federal reserve banks and thereby
still further increase the working
capital in the county.
County Treasurer H. A. Benson
said the payment Of taxes up to the
present time we're about the usual
amount but that those who were un-
able to pay their taxes without bor-
rowing money usually did their bor-
rowing right at the last. This season
the banks are not loaning money to
pay taxes and the amount Of tax
money that usually comes in at the
end OF the tax paying period may
diminish greatly this year, falling be-
low the usual amount paid in other
years. That remains to be seen.
After considerable discussion on
this situation a motion was made
and seconded that it was the duty
and the proper procedure for every
body to pay their taxes that could
and for those that could not pay all
OF their taxes, pay as much as they +
could and as soon as they could and
that we should ask the legislature to
remit the penalties on the delinquent !
taxes. There was opposition to this
latter proposition on the theory that
1t would do more harm than good,
that there are always a number of
people that do not pay their taxes
even in good prosperous times and
that under any conditions there will
always be some deliquencies, that II
the penalty is remitted it will open
up the doors for greater delin-
quency at other times and will be a
step in the direction of destroying
the public credit.
In discussing the question, one
lady speaker said that her property,
a hotel was assessed much higher
than the property next to it and
she would like an investigation. She
said she had a farm and was unable
to pay the taxes on the farm because
she had not received any income
from the farm. Another lady, also
widow, said she owned 400 acres
of land and that the tax on it last ,
year was only $50 and that this year
1t is $3.50, that there was something
wrong about it or it would not have
raised SO much. She said that widows ,
generally get the worst of it any !,
how and she did not like the situa-
tion. She said, of course, If she were
q man and had wife to make a liv-
ing for her, as one of the men in
the audience whom she named, that t
perhaps 1t would be all right. Mr.. 5
Johnson Of Firth said that he was {
The owner Of 20 acres of land, only .
IA Of which he was able to farm I
and that his taxes on it were $149.
Mr.. Trego said he thought it was 7
in bad taste for anyone to make the :
statement that the widows were get I
ting the worst of it in this county I
In view of the fact that there are 9
exemptions filed and allowed to the $
extent of $146,000 in behalf Of the {
Widows. The owner of this 400 acres v
If land, If she was only paying $3.50
axes on it indicated that she was f
Enjoying an exemption or by some a
means her taxes were lighter than a
hey were on other peoples land p
md that the gentleman from Firth r.
With 1-20 the mount of land was t,
aging within one dollar of as much "
IS she was paying on her tract 20 n
lines as large. d
G. s. Beebe, the insurance man, n
tated that great many people o
we're suffering from automobilists tt
Ie said that great many people
lad come to him to secure loans to a.
omplete their payments, on automo- H
lies and very few Of them applied 81
0 him for loans to pay their taxes. fl
Ie said that we generally as a peo- te
lie, had been riding in automobiles lo
nd indulging in many luxuries and in
hat now by trying to dodge the pay al
lent Of taxes, we were not showing tc
xactly good faith in taking our med
zine and paying for what we had +
rdered and enjoyed. He said it was i.
he wrong thing to do, to be side +
topping the taxes orsdoing anything \