Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-01-03
Taxation of Farm Lands i'm Georgia

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placed in the hands of tax receiv-
er, and was called return" and
was sworn to by the owners or
the property.
The tax receiver was required to
examine into the values, as there
set down, and to find out whether
these lands We're rated at, prices of
other lands of similar quality around
them. This method was in use for
more than 60 years, to my own
knowledge.
A general complaint was heard all
over the state, that many thousands
of acres were placed too low, and
also many thousands of acres were
not returned at all. In 1913, the new
law, the tax equalization law, was
placed on the statute book of the
commonwealth.
The tax receiver was stin to han
die the returns and to point out the
lands that were improperly rated,
and also the lands that were not
returned at all.
Three men, to be selected by the
county commission or the proper
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mission, were to receive these re-
turns from the tax receiver and
they were to inspect these papers
and equalize values. They were not
called upon to write returns for land
owners and assess values, for that
was the receivers business, and for
which he was very we'll paid; but
they were to equaliZe values, and
notify landowners that did not re-
turn their land values, and such peo-
pie were to be double taxed for
their negligence and omission of
duty.
These assessors were to be care
fully selected and to be men of good
standing of intelligence and free
holders. BY the latter term, they
were to be owners of land them
selves-and thus closely allied with
the business interests of the coun-
ty. In the county OffBartow where
I live, these three assessors were to
serve from May Is to July 1, at Sc
per diem in 1921 and to have con-
veyances hired for them by the
county commissioners, if they felt
obliged to see the properties to be
able to equalize values. This was
done at large expense.
Having discovered that forty acres
of my own land, assessed by these
assessors at $40 per acre for me, had
also been assessed to the agent of
an estate at 81 per acre. I went in
/ person to the courthouse to ask that
| such mistake should be sufficiently
! corrected so as to save me from
paying the enormous tax now set
down against my land on the books
of the tax collector. The room was
crowded with farmers who had been
dauble-taxed by these assessors and
were clamoring for relief, after they
could prove they had signed and
sworn to a return and had given
it to the tax receiver, as the law re-
quired. After two hours Of waiting
in this crowd I was told that the
board of county commissioners had
not been able to get through with
an immense number of these peti
TONERS and were obliged to havi
a week, for their attorney (also PAID
! by the county, to go through will
them; that 1 could come back al
I the end of the week and get hear
ing. Then I went over to the tax
digest for 1921, also the wild lanC
digest, and copied down very signiff
I cant figures on lands adjoining tC
me and made trip to Atlanta, anC
also examined the official Barlow
county digests in the comptroller
generals office, for there must be
exact copies placed in the state
capitol, and I, there found that the
error or mistake or neglect of duty
| foJynT,itiS.I0o ho6
tinued on these books-enough mis-
takes that might swallow up entire
estates in law suits in later years
I copied sufficient data in the
state-house from the Barlow Coun
ty Digest, as before stated, to show
| that 1 had been taxed beyond 9th
ers, and 1 carried these digests to
Tax Commissioner Fulbright's Of
flee, and together we spent at least
two hours verifying the final show
ing of the error. I was able tC
point out and prove to him by the
official figures on those tax books
the lac kof equalization. He tolc
me the equalization law did not give
him any authority or control of the
tax assessors. He was helpless tC
| rectify these errors Of local boards
Then I visited the governors of
flee. l laid these facts before him
He invited Tax Commissioner Full
bright to his office and we went
over these figures again. I appealed
to the governor for the protection
| I begged for. While my advanced
age admonishes me that I shall not
be bothered a great while with such
manifest injustice, 1 am making this
contest in behalf of descendants
who must be either protected in
their manifest rights or be simply
robbed under forms Of law. as now
conducted.
AS the governor told me, he hac
no authority to remove incompetent
tax assessors, or to alter figures o.
these tax digests-he would write
to the Barlow county commission
ers and ask them to investigate my
statements and to give the matter
proper attention in the county
where I live. A committee has beer
appointed and thus the matter re
mains in allegiance, at this writing
In the year 1919-after an effort tt
obtain similar relief, which failed
I went to the office of Comptroller
William A. Wright, who knew more
about tax matters than any man II
Georgia, and proved to him tina
after 1 had been officially notified
in June, 1919, of the tax values as
sessed my farm land. found mysal
really taxed on the digest and IL
the tax collectors office nearly 81
per acre additional on every acr'
of land I owned. The old veteran
rose up to say, ''My dear madam
bv virtue of the authority vested il
nv office, you shall not pay thi:
illegal tax The tax collector obeye(
the order issued from Genera
Wright's office. This tax equaliza
ton law, is an impossible one. NJ
three men never in three years
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