The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1920-04-15

. WEI
| ed at $74O,OO0, resorts to figure Jug
Cling. AS result he finds that the
432.77 He arrived at, this by assum-
ing that every. dollar Of the levied tax
for the current year will be paid by
J,Me 3Oth. Everybody knows that all
levied taxes are not paid; from five to
ten per cent of every general property
tax is never collected. Elsewhere in
one of his articles he. comedies that
only Is per cent of any tax is collect
ed in the year that it is levied. "A
The state tax commissioner fixes the
general property tax levy for the gen.
| eral fund, exclusive of the grain tax
and the money and credits tax, at $2,-
| 591, ,546.54; twenty-five per cent of
I! this is seas, 1864. In estimating the
revenues of the state for this year the
state tax commissioner last August in
report to- the state board of equal
sization estimated delinquent taxes
which would be- collected for the cur
rent year at $283 ,485.48; substracting
this from the amount of the present
levy, which will not be collected by
/; June Both, we get 1866, ,401.l6; adding
! this to the admitted deficit of Mr.. Roy
lance of Utah we get $581 ,085.87 as
the admitted deficit at that time.
! This only leaves difference in the
deficit for the current year Of $141,-
10000. The tax commissioner has es-
timated the deficit, based upon the es-
innate of the revenues for the current
year, and $l41 900 is a fair margin in
any estimate of the size of the expect
ed revenues of a state. My experience
has been that estimated revenues have
always fallen short. In all the years
i l have been at the State House and
have been in touch with the finances of
the state T have never known an esti-
mate which has left a surplus; they
have always left a deficit of varying
sizes. This is the general experience
of public officials in fiscal affairs.
NV Judgment is that when the
smoke has cleared away that Mr.. Roy
lance of Utah will find that the deficit
for the biennium will average more
than ,S722 900 for each year unless a
sharp increase in the levy is made
next year.
In attempting to dispose of the de-
fcit for the current year, Mr.. Roy
lance of Utah finds the gross property
tax levy and estimated income from
other sources at variance with the
figures obtainable in the Office of the
state tax commissioner, and also in
making his deductions @he performs
statistical feats which l thought i'm
possible. The gross income, according
to a compilation made by the state tax
commissioner, from the general prop
erty tax is $3,742 ,616.08 for 1919. In
his estimate to the state board of
Equalization he estimated the revenue
from all other sources at $1,4lO,374.59
making a total Of SIS, 159, ,99O67. It
must be remembered, however, that
only IS per cent Of the general tax
lew is available for. the current year.
Mr.. Roylance found one-fourth of $3,-
742,616 to be $728,842; I found it to
be 1896, ,854.s The state tax commits
sioner finds the levy for, interest and
sinking fund to be 1920, ,1O6.97, while
Mr.. *Roylance found it to be $239, $50.
! He also found that there was sur
plus of $101, ,593, and also that $780,
600 of the appropriations would not be
used. H.
If there was any surplus in the state
treasury inherited by this biennial
period, I will have to be shown. There
might have been a little cash in the
state treasury, but doubt it. But
against this 100000 are obligations
Of the state amounting to several
times that amount which were incur
red during the previous biennial per-
iod, which must be met by this sur
plus. If any officials have little left
over from their appropriations, there
will be other officials who will have de-
ficits. Usually the deficits exceed the
hangovers, so we will have to eliminate
this item from Mr.. Roylance's table.
Correcting his figures and substi-
tuting the figures of the state tax COM
missioner, we find at the end Of this
biennial period a deficit of $377, 1850
instead of surplus Of $405, ,978.45.
Accepting Mr.. Roylance's figures
with these corrections venture the
prophecy that there will be a very sub
stantial deficit in many of the depart
ments over and above estimates; many
funds are. practically exhausted and
we have yet a. year and three months
to 60: l apprehend that the Seven
teenth Legislative Assembly will face
some very, heavy deficits, which if
added to Mr. ROylance'S estimate will
bring. it up to more than $722, 900.
The gentleman from Utah enters
the realm Of high finance when he dis
cusses rext years income. First of
all, he estimates the oil tax at $400.-
900: the first year it netted $500 900.
The late lamented Sixteenth Legisla-
tive Assembly adopted law which
was drafted by the Standard Oil Com
pany, reducing their tax from 1c a
gallon to 1-4c q gallon. AS they paid