The Colville examiner. [volume] (Colville, Wash.) 1907-1948, 1921-02-12
HIGH TAXATION
A REAL BURDEN
PUBLIC NOW PAYING PENALTY
FOR PAST NEGLIGENCE IN
FINANCE
Local Taxing Officials Not to Blame
Public Must Accept Responsibility
For Results

Inc 19ZO taxes became due last
Monday, payable at the office of the
county treasurer. The law provides
that personal taxes must be paid by
March Is. Real estate taxes be-
come delinquent June 1. If half the
real estate tax is paid by May 81, the
other half can run to Nov. 80 with
out interest. If all the real estate
tax is paid in full by March Is, a
3T rebate is given.
Every year it has been the Gus
tom for many taxpayers, at the time
of paying the taxes, to register to
the county treasurer their disapproval
of the high taxes This is taking
most unfair advantage of the county
treasurer and her force, for they
have but an infinitesimal part in de-
termining how much taxes shall be
paid. Sometimes the irate taxpayer
will go in and also tell his troubles
to the assessor, and as the assessor is
a public servant he is obliged to be
polite, but it is equally unfair to
complain to the assessor, for he has
but very small part in determining
the taxes.
The county commissioners always
come in for their part of the criti-
cism, so much so that it has become
standing joke that if no one else
can be blamed, the commissioners
must be it. The fact is, the com
missioners have but fractional part
to say in the determination of taxes,
and ought to be spared the wrath
of those who beat about the bush in
an attempt to give vent to dis
pleasure.
Then who determines the taxes?
If the truth must be told, the
people determine them-and this de-
termination consists largely in pay
ing no attention to city, county or
state business, and leaving the finan-
cial part of civil administration to
the whims of chance.
There should be no more complaint
at the annual paying of taxes than
there is Of the annual payment of
fire or life insurance. If taxes are
too high, they can be cut at the call
of the people. If taxes are not high
enough, they can be raised.
Taxes are not arbitrarily fixed by
county officials. Different bodies have
a hand in the fixing of taxes.
Local improvement district taxes
are fixed by the local districts. Ir-
rigation district assessments are fixed
by the assessment districts. School
taxes are fixed largely by the school
districts County road district taxes
are fixed by the county commissioner
in charge of the district, who always
consults with the taxpayers of his
district to know the needs and wishes
of the district.
County taxes are fixed by the coun-
ty commissioners, AFTER each coun-
ty official has estimated his needs for
the coming year, and AFTER full
public hearing has been held on the
matter of allowing the estimates, and
AFTER the notices of estimates has
been printed THREE times in THREE
newspapers of the county. Not q
cent of county expense money is
fixed as a tax until the people of
the county have had every oppor-
tunity of investigating and protesting
the estimated expense. And do the
people take advantage of these OPP
portunities to help handle the county
budget? They do not Sometime
a few taxpayers will come to the
open hearing and ask questions, but
seldom does any taxpayer come to
the meeting with a sound suggestion
on a possible retrenchment. And the
commissioners, having no other re-
course, make the county levy in ac-
cordance with the facts before them.
State taxes are ordered by the
state tax commission and the county
has nothing directly to say about
it, neither in amount, nor in the
ratio which our assessed values shall
be applied to the state demand. For
a number of years the state tax com
mission has walked over the county
assessors percentage, lowering 1t
each time, which means more state
tax.
The total amount of state tax to
be collected from the entire state
each year rests in the hands Of the
legislature, a body controlled by King
and Pierce counties, generally with
the willing assistance Of Spokane
county.
Cause of High Taxes
The cause of high taxes lies largely