Evening star., 1931-12-18
RICHARDS DEFENDS
ASSESSING SYSTEM
Says If Method Is "Not Safe"
He Would Like to Hear
of Better,

TAX Assessor William P. Richards,
whose method of assessing by compari-
son of sale prices of real property was
described as mot safe" by the Mapes
Committee in its recent report, does not
take much stock in the accusation, and
when questioned on thes ubject remarked
that If that method is not safe, he
would like to hear of one which is.
The committee report carries an ex-
haustive set of tables in which, by some
undescribed formula, the assessed
values of properties in cities studied by
the committees expert are brought up
to full value so as to arrive at fig
ure for an adjusted tax rate" for COM
parison with the tax rate in Washing
ton.
In explaining this table, the report
sets out two methods not used One is
the Richards method of studying sales
This is dismissed with the statement:
This the committee feels is not a safe
method for the reason most of the sales
of real property are made on land con-
tracts. In other words, on the INSTALL
ment plan. Sales of this character are
frequently made at substantial
amount in excess of the actual value
That is evidenced by the fact that these
contracts are often discounted to
finance companies and others dealing
in such securities at anywhere from 10
to 40 per cent"
Per Capita System Taboo.
The other is the per capita basis of
seeking to equal!2e assessments for the
purposes Of comparisons. as used by
the Bureau of Efficiency, also discarded
BY the committee.
MI. Richards pointed out that the
method Of valuation by comparison of
sales is the one used by the United
States Census Bureau for many years,
and after trial and rejection Of many
other systems.
AS for the difference between cash
and credit prices on realty he produced
a blank form on which appeals from
assessments are made by property
owners.
Immediately under the caption on
this printed form appear the following
words:
"All real estate in the District of Co
lumbia subject TO taxation, including
improvements thereon, is required by
law TO be assessed at not less than the
full and true value thereof in lawful
money.
The Supreme Court of the District
Of Columbia instructed the commission
appointed to appraise the value of land
and buildings on square 800 as follows:
The several parcels are to be ap-
praised at their full market value, with
reference to the most advantageous uses
to which they can be put by private
persons or corporations; and by the
market value is meant what the prop
erty would sell for in cash or on terms
equivalent to cash when offered for sale
by one who desires but is not obliged to
sell to one who desires but is not obliged
to buy
The above will be accepted by the
Board of Equalization and Review as a
proper definition of full value"
The assessor referred the inquirer to
some mimeographed notes of his made
long before the present controversy
arose An extract reads: Although
the assessor may have data derived
from a multitude of sources. vet the
most acceptable guide comes from sales
made under conditions hereinbefore ex-
planned An opinion by an expert may
have back Of 1t the desire to prove
contention or his opinion may be infu-
enCed by erroneous data or his conclu-
sionS may have weakness through in
adequate data.
Opinions May Be Changed.
Opinions may be changed in an hour
without inconvenience. even by a sworn
witness. i ne greatest weight must be !
given to the volume of sales, each sale
having back of it a money Considera- ,
ton that CCmpelS caution and that i'm
plies faith in the value named Sales
have the nature of competition in the
investment Of capital They are a bid
| for revenue. each investor striving to
place his money on the best and safest
income-p paying basis. 1t therefore fol-
lows that if sales are the weightiest
guide in making an assessment, they
become the sureSt guide in measuring
the accuracy of an assessment
The only way to find out the rela-
, ton between assessed value and market
value" Mr. Richards said, lis by COM
pairing assessments with sales. In the
comparison it is essential to get many
sales over a period of years. The
amount Of money that men are willing
to put into property is, after all the
faireSt way of judging the propertyS
value. If this committee has judged by
some other method, think we ought
to know what the method was. I re-
gard that as the most important Of all
the information that could have been
in this report. I certainly expect to
learn what the basis was before this
controversy is over"