The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-01-31
Chapter II.

SAdptCl II.
If you are the owner of any dia-
monds you are going to pay taxes on
them in the year 1921 or else you are
going to the assessor and make ap-
plication for exemption. You may
have never paid taxes on your dia-
monds heretofore and we will grant
that that is true, but there are good
many things that people have not
done about taxes in the past that will
not be acceptable in the future. Any
one who can afford to own diamonds
can afford to.pay his or her portion
of the cost of maintaining the gov
eminent that protects them. The
law specifies that you shall report
your diamonds to the assessor There
are certain provisions made for eX-
empting people from the payment of
taxes which they are not able to pay
or which for perfectly proper reasons
they should not pay. We have no
objection to the legal exemptions, if
you see fit to ask for them, but we
shall object to people evading the
payment of taxes which they ought
to pay and for which no exemptions
are provided. We claim that the
day has passed when people shall sit
back and escape the burden of taxa
ton and keep applying to the city
council, the school board, the board
of commissioners and the legislature
and keen asking for more service
that costs money and then expect the
other fellow to pay the bills. People
who wear fine apparel and much
jewels are entitled to pay a little
more taxes than those who do not
sport these Injuries and regardless
of what anyone tells you about ex-
emptions when the assessor gets to
you, you had better report your
diamonds and all those things that
stand for invested wealth. Then if
you want to be exempted from paying
taxes, there is a perfectly proper
channel thru which you may apply at
the assessors office and if you're en-
titled to exemption, you will be ex-
cused from payments. If you have
an idle investment of 500 or $1,000
in diamonds, what excuse have you
for not paying taxes on that 500 or
$1,000 when the poor dry farmer or
any other man having similar
amount invested in necessities is
under hard struggle to pay his
taxes; by what right do you ask to |
be exempted from the payment of |
taxes on your diamonds and other
jewels? That is the question for you
to be considering between now and
the day when the assessor gets to
you. If you have investments in |
stocks and bonds or invisible prop
erty that is assessable by what right |
should you be excused from paying
taxes on that investment whether it |
yields you any income or not? You /
make the investment hoping it would
yield an income or profit or returns
of some kind and it is up to you to
pay your full proportion of the ex-
pense of operating the government
that protects you and that protects
the property which you own. If you
are not willing to pay taxes on. your
diamonds, jewelry and other luxur-
les, then don't you think it is about
time to cash in on your luxuries and
get rid of them or quit accepting the
protection Of the government? The
tax burdens of this county are not
SO terrible if everybody would get
in and pay his share, but when it is !
distributed the burden is
heavier on those who pay and it
seems heavier because of the unwill-
lngness with which they face the pay
ment.
You Cant Escape
Suppose the assessor comes to
your house when you are away from
home; you do not escape taxation
~ that. He leaves a blank at your
house, puts it under the door, inside
he screen or some place where you
viii be quite sure to find it. 1t will !
'e folded in such a way that on the .
outside there will be some instruc-
ions to you, informing you that it is
our duty to take this list, fill it out
correctly, sign it, which also consti-
utes making oath to it, and deliver +,
to the assessors office within ten :,
ays from the date when it was r
laced at your door If you fail to :.
o that the assessor makes up the
lst from such information as he L
an get without going back to see q
GU and you will have to pay taxes d
n that amount because you did not -