The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-05-12
Equalizing the Tax Burden;
Five. Million a Year

do it, or that if he did that he would
be making our county pay more than
its share of the state tax, but he
failed to show just how that would
make our county pay more, or how
it is shielding us and allowing us to
shirk our state tax by operating his
guessing game with himself, and re-
fusing information to men who have
tried to help him solve his assessing
problems. Even the board of COM
missioners were never able to get
anything definite in all their talks
with him when the writer was pres
ent or in any Of their conferences
when the writer was absent and we
obtained reports of what was said
The Mystery Unfolds
One of the things that has been
remarked more times than anything
else on the tax question in the past
few months, by tax payers is, II am
willing to pay my share of the tax,
whatever it is, but / don't like to be
paying the tax for other people and
letting them escape"
Men express a similar idea when
they say, II report all my property
| to the assessor and leave it to him
to assess me on a level with my
neighbors." Mote the use of the
word "Neighbors.
When such a man makes COMPARE
| sons to see if lie is being assessed for
his right proportion to divide the tax
| burden, he makes a few comparisons
of his own property with something
lying near it, his neighbors' property,
and if it eyens up about alike he dis
misses the subject and that is the
end of his effort. If it does not COM
pare as closely as he thinks it ought
to, he goes before the board of
equalization the fourth Monday in
June and asks them to review the
matter, with the result that the as
SCISSOR is called in unless he is al
ready there, and they begin to make
comparison of the locality, and find
some that is higher and some that is
lower, and after discussion of the
matter they show him that his values
are not far wrong; there might have
been little difference made in his
favor to have it absolutely just; they
make some excuses for the assessor,
mention what complicated task he
has, the man gets disguised or dis
couraged or half ashamed of his eff
fort, and takes the opportunity to get
away, no wiser, no better off and the
board is rid of him.
Protecting Assessor Only
By six years experience, our as
SCISSOR has learned that by not estab-
fishing any definite measure of
values, but merely trying to get the
property in ehe different neighbor-
hoods on the same level as to that
locality, regardless of its level with
property in other parts of the county,
he can get away easily when taken
to task by anyone claiming 10 have
been assessed too high.
How StOckmen Get BY
When this program has been car
ried out relative to real estate, he can
60 out assessing livestock and not
have any measure to work by and he !
can assess on herd on one basis and |
another on some other basis, assess
ing the full number in one herd and |
one out of hundred in another herd |
and let other herds get away entirely,
and when confronted about it he can |
do just as he does do, say he supposes
it is mistake, that of course he
might make mistake maybe. This
condition exists in all the grades of |
mistakes ranging from full assess
ment of the man with a COW or two,
up to the big stOckmen assessed for
half of what they own or one out of
a hundred or big herds like Ethel
Ellsnlore and w. H. Larkins not as
sessed at all, and the herds pouring
In from Bonneville county not asses
sed at all because of his reciprocity"
arrangement with the assessor of
that county, and stockmen getting
wise to that matter have only to tell
The assessor that they are from Bon
neville county to get by without be-
ing assessed, no matter where they
are from.
Tax payers are receiving mail from
the assessors office now, and when
they examine the contents they find
that it is the statement of what their
nrorerty is being valued at his year,
that's all. The owner is supposed to
look at the figures and If they are not
he should Sc the asses
'or about it or appear before the
board of equalization and have it
corrected.
Pooling the Taxpayer
But how is man to know whether
It is right or wrong. He has moth
ing to Judge by, for the assessor has
nothing to judge by, as to values, All
that the assessor has to go by is his
own private "key" that he adopts in
each locality to measure by in that
locality, and he does not tell the
other property owners nor put it in
The notice mailed to a man, so that
man can use even the makeshift
which the assessor uses. All
that man can do is to say what we
quoted earlier in this article, 81 am
willing to pay my share of the tax
burden, whatever it is, but I don't
like to be paying the tax for other
people and letting them escape" Or
he can say that other line we quoted,
II report all my property to the as
- L