The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1927-10-07
NOT DEPENDENT
ON OWNERSHIP
STUDY OF DELINQUENT TAX
PROBLEM BY FEDERAL FOX
EST TAXATION INQUIRY.

ON land ownership and tax delln-
ouency in Northeastern Minnesota
which indicates that tax delinquency
does not depend on ownership. lax
figures are presented which snow
that there is three times as mucn
tax delinquency for small absentee
sYeculators as for large owners;
thu 80 per cent OF such smans mold
in are delinquent, and that oniy
one-rhird of the region is held In
blocks of over 400 acres, OF wnlcn
considerable percentage is held Dy
sneculators. The bulletin, which Is
q valuable contribution toward the
consideration and solution OF the
tag problem, is as follows:
I'm seven out of sixteen countles
of Northeastern Minnesota, the
Forest Taxation Inquiry has Cd
tanned complete records showing the
amount of land delinquent for taxes
as of Sept. LIS, 1926, to be 2,ol4'-
624 acres, or 27.57 per cent OF the
area on the tax lists of these couI''
ties. The counties included are
Lake, st. Louis, Itasca, koochicning'
Reltrami, Cass and Hubbard. These
counties contain l2,77l,2Oo acres
or sc per cent of the region studied.
In two other counties, Lake OF the
Woods and Aitkin, which cover an
additional 2,039, AGA acres, or lo.o
per cent of the region, the per cent
of delinquent land is even higner.
1t is safe to say that. outside OF the
unree southernmost counties IN the
group, Kanabec, Mile Laos and Pane
nearly 80 per cent of the Land was
delinquent for taxes a year ago.
and this acreage IS increasing larry
raa:dlv.
g-ot All Large. Owners.
There Is a widespread impress
sion in Northern Minnesota that
this tax delinquent land belongs 20
lu,nbermen who, having cut on the
timber, have simply ceased to pay
likes on land which was of no FUR
Their interest to them. The condl-
tions are not so simple as this. In
order to determine what class OF
land owners We're paying their taxes
the Forest Taxation Inquiry made
records for. owners OF tracts OF
more than 400 acres and Of less
than this quantity. These figures
were secured for six counties, Lake.
Itasca, Koochiching, Beltrami, Cass
and hubbard, covering 6,169,6o4
acres of land on the tax lists, OF
which 2,128,757 acres, or 35.61 per
cent is not paying taxes.
at was found that 1897 per cent
of the taxable area of these SIX
counties was in, the hands OF own
ers of over 400 acres, while the re-
naming 66.03 per cent, or two
thirds, was owned in smaller tracts.
But of the area not paying taxes,
only 23.12 per cent was in large
ownership, while 1858 per cent be-
longed to small owners. This indl-
Gates that not only do small owners
hold twice as much land as do large
owners, but their rate of tax delln-
auency is considerably greater. 1t
was found that of the large hold
ings, 1872 per cent are paying
taxes and 24.28 per cent are. delin-
uuent. Of the small tracts, 5S.47
per cent are paying taxes and 41.53
per cent are delinquent. The ratio
Of the tax delinquency is II Per
cent greater for small owners than
for large lana holders.
flore Small Dslinquents.
'"1a4ing the total area on the tax
lists for these six counties, we find
that large owners pay taxes on
$3.50 per cent of the land and are
delinquent on 8.25 per cent. while
small owners pay taxes on 1850
per cent of the land and are delin-
auent on 27.42 per cent, so that OF
the delinquent lands in these coun-
ties, small owners are responsible
for 76 per cent of the total and
large owners for "a per cent, or a
ratio of 8 to 1.
SIN these six counties, 1,233,35
acres are owned by farmers, or 20
per cent of the tax list. Of the hold
ings of 400 acres and under, farm
ers own 80 per cent. While here
and there taxes on farm lands be-
come delinquent, in general it is
not the improved farms on which
taxes remain unpaid, but the wild,
cutover land.
eff the entire tax delinquency
for small owners were in fact allo-
Gated to such improved land, it
would today amount to 60 per cent
of such holdings, hence it probably
exceeds so per cent after allowing
for delinquency on farm land. This
would give ratio for this class of
small speculative owners Of double
that which applies to large owner.
"The fact is that tax delinquency
depends very little on the class or
size of ownership, but does depend
upon the attitude of the owner
towards the and, his intentions as
to its use or sale, and his belief that
it is worth holding for income and
profit.
"Land originally. timbered stayed
on the tax list as long as the tim
Der remained on the land. When
this was cut, the owner, whether he
was a lunlberman or a purchaser,
had to. see some future value in the
land to induce him to pay taxes on
it. No lumber companies in Min
nesota have as yet definitely en-
barked on policy of growing a
second crop of timber. When lum-
Der companies have continued to
pay taxes on cutover lands it was
for other reasons than the returns