Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-01-23
PLAN FOR DEFERRED
RENTS ON STATE LAND
MAY CRIPPLE SCHOOLS
Continued from Page One.)

!
| done as a permanent or tempOrar
measure will doubtless be a subioc
| of discussion.
lone objection in MAKING If
! permanent measure is that it nigh
be inconsistent with other meas
uros which have been suggested II
regard to the collection of dues ac
cruing to the state in the form o
taxes on personal property. which
ought to be collected before th,
proI erty can be removed from tht
states jurisdiction. In any even
the suggested change would onl,
operate to postpone the paymen
of these rentals for a period of one
year, and after that the periodic
burden would be resumed. In the
present emergency this would be 9
very considerable and much needed
relief to the industry. On the Other
hand the deferred rentals would re-
suit in the present year in the loss
of a revenue Of some 100000 to
the schools, and this would doubt
less be exceedingly embarrassing,
as that has already been taken into
consideration in the preparation of
the school budgets which would
have to be either correspondence
decreased or made up for in in
creased tax levies.
"A thirty-day notice for cancella-
ton of state leases is undoubtedly
altogether too short. and should in
justice to the stock interests be
extended.
"As for Section 3. Chapter 80,
Laws Of 1919. providing that land
sold by the state shall be assessed
at 40 per cent of the purchase
Price the governor recommends
that it should be so changed that
the purchasers of these lands will
Lay on the actual value of their in
terest therein and this IS directly in
line with the whole trend of his
thought on the distribution and
equalization Of the tax burden gen.
lally. The suggestion as to the
of the proviso for the
q assessment OF contracted lands at
rot less than 40 per cent of the
purchase price. and the substitu-
ton of the language suggested by
the governor is clearly right, as
there is no justification for such an
rule when the state is
committed to a policy for the as
sessment Of property at its actual
value. The actual value of the
present interest in a contract for
the purchase of land from the state
must be measured with due regard
to various ingredients which go to
make IN value. and the present
law attempts to prescribe a form
ula which is not only arbitrary but
very confusing, even to those as
SCISSORS who ere sincerely trying TO
reach an adequate and Just APP
of this class of prop
cgty. 1t has been applied quite
in different counties, In
Lea county they attempted to class
these lands on the basis of the full
cash payment to the state plus 40
per cent of the unpaid balance. In
this way the more cash pur-
chaser paid the greater would be
his taxes, and this may result in
discouraging payments to the state.
In Chaves county they, for while.
taxed simply on the amount or
cash paid in on the contract, and
in Eddy county it was proposed to
assess the full purchase price.
These instances will serve to dem
onstratc the confusion existing UNI
der the present law,
From the standpoint Of the
ranchman grazing land tenureS in
the state may be divided into three
general classes: /, Lands held in
fee. 2. Lands rented from the
state. g. State lands held on 30
year contracts for purchase with
) per cent as down payments, and
4 per cent interest on the balance.
OF these three the second is un-
GCubtedly the most favorable to
the stockman, except for the un-
certainty of tenure, as the usual
grazing fee is cents per acre,
" hich is less than the interest at 4
per cent on the unpaid balance on
3O-year contracts. This interest in
tho case of SO lands amounts toI
ia cents per acre annually, and
in the case of IS land to 10 cents,
and you pay in addition WhateVerI
tax may be determined upon. If
you own your land you pay tax of
about 2 per cent on the value of
from $3.50 to $3.75; that is from
about to y cents per acre. and
in all probability you have to pay
iE addition interest at from 6 to 8 |
per cent on a dollar Tor two per
acre Of Indebtedness on the land !
1T is evident that leasehold |
from the state at 5 cents per acre
is by far the most advantageous to |
the stockman | do not under
st2nd the governors recommenda-
ton cOntemplates that leaseholds |
ihould be unqualifiedly confirmed |
n the lessees for the full fiVe-year |
)eriod but only that they should |
Dc assured from year to year and |
his is certainly reasonable and |
rise.
AS for contracts for purchase 1t
could be right. ! think, when |
ines improve to consider a return
} the former provisions of the law
annual payments on the
purchase price. |
What we all want is to properly |
protect the stock industry ana 10
10 so in such a way as will result
n increasing rather than decreas-
ng the carrying capacity of the
.anges. That is one phase of the
,roblem. Another phase of it is
o so administer the trust that it
ill result in the greatest return to
he schools and institutions for
whose Benefit these lands were
granted to the state by the federal
government.
IF it is true that one group of
,tockmen who hold their lands |
rom the state are being subsidized
W the land office and another
group who hold theirs in fee are
,eing penalized by the tax com
mission then the latter group, |
which is much more numerous
han the former, is going to get to-
,ether and insist on such a drop IN |
.razing land valuations as viii
,lace them on an equality with
| ose who hold state lands.
THE legislature undoubtedly has
very serious problem before 1t in
..,.tl, flor