Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-08-21
Revenue Commission Re-
CeSSeS Until the Data OBJ
tanned at Hearing Has
Been Whipped Into Shape
CHANGE CONTIGUOUS
CLAUSE OF MINE LAW
There Is a Demand For An
Income Tax, But the Form
It Should Take Is a Mat
ter of Serious Debate,
IBy Clinton p. Anderson.)

Santa Fe, Aug. 2O.-After a week
of extremely valuable hearings
virtually without a parallel in the
states history, the revenue COM
mission took recess late TINS
afternoon and decided to wait until
the testimony offered before 1t had
been prepared and organized be
fore proceeding further with the
attempt to evolve a satisfactory so
luton to the taxation problems or
New Mexico. The hearings have
supplied the commission with in
formative data on all lines Of busi-
ness In New Mexico-wholesal
merchandising, grazing mining,
railroading and farming.
out of a mass of confusing ideas
and in many Instances conflicting
testimony, a few solid planks In the
platform of reform seem to have
been created. One is that county
assessors are not handling their
work in a manner satisfactory to
any of the lines of business repre-
sented and that a system Whlch
would centrali2e the revenue-gath-
ering machinery in the offices or
the state tax commission might re
ceive favorable consideration by all
concerned. Another is that some
change should be made in the con-
tIguous clause of the mine laws,
especially as they relate to coal
mining. A third is that there Is
fairly insistent demand for an in
come tax, although the form II
would take is a matter of serious
debate.
Local Assessor Blamed.
The keynote of the conferences
seemed to be: The local assessors
are falling down. Whenever Dlg
industry which deals directly with
the state tax commission was called
to testify before the revenue com
mission, the impression inVariapiY
left was that the central body was
getting property on the rolls TO
surprisingly high percentage. TINS
running between so and 80 per
cent. but that the local assessors
frequently were turning in only Az
TO 60 per cent of the property with
In their district.
Two cases in point illustrate this:
The Santa Fe railroad pays taxes
on about S55, 900 worth of prop
erty by the state tax commission
valuation, although the engineering
report of the bureau of valuation
of the federal government places
the value of all their property eX-
elusive of right of way at slightly
over $4,000. 0G0. There are a few
elements which would raise the lat
ter sum, but the assessment OF the
railroad lines in this state proba-
blv represents not less than 80 per
cent of its value. On the other
hand the Santa Fe Water ana
Light company was assessed at
$500 900 by a local assessor. which
would have made the tax Dill more
than 80 per cent of its net earnings
and which was more than douple
the value placed on the plant by an
expert of the Wisconsin state tax
body. The assessment was not
made by an expert and was TOO
high. Against this over-assessment
was contrasted the testimony that
in Socorro county the assessed val
uation Is only twenty-three per cent
of the selling value.
In view of the fact that assess
rents by local men. elected for po-
litical reasons, did not usually rep
resent the value required by law
while the state body seemed to have
been fairly successful, there was
a feeling that the local power
should be reduced while that OF the
state was built up.
Limit Contiguous Coal land
The suggestion which seemed 10
come nearest ~ Clarifying the mud
dy waters eddying about the coal
mine taxation question came vol
unfairly from Jan Van Houteh,
manager of the st. Louis, Rocky
Mountain and Pacific company. He
proposed to substitute the gross
production for the net as basis
Of computing the tonnage tax and
the limitation of contiguous miner
al land which would be tax free
TO an area sufficient TO supply the
mine with enough coal to run from
twenty-five to fifty years.
To say this suggested remedy met
with universal approval would be
decidedly twisting the truth. The
spread between gross and net is