Imperial Valley press., 1932-11-04
FOULDS URGES
SUPPORT FOR
NUMBER NINE

| No other proposition on the
November ballot will effect direct
ly so many people as No. 9, the
Property Tax Relief amendment.
Nearly everyone pays some proper
! ty tax, if not on real property
then on an automobile, or furni-
ture, or a stock of goods. Nearly
everyone finds his tax oppressive,
/ particularly in these times, as it
has to be paid regardless OF
whether or not the property or the
owner of the property is making a
profit, or whether he has any in
come whatever. 1t is to relieve this
excessive tax burden on property
that Amendment No. 9 was drawn
and put on the ballot by the Cal
ifornia Farm Bureau federation,
the California Real Estate asse-
citation, the California Teachers
association, the State Association
of County Supervisors and other
allied organizations.
While no other amendment
would effect so many people ben
officially, on the other hand it is
one of the most difficult propos-
itions for the average person to
understand. 1t is a regrettable fact
that very few people, not even
the large taxpayers, understand
the why and wherefor of the diff
ferent items that go to make up
their tax bill, although it is now
pretty generally understood that
school taxes are the biggest items.
In order to understand the pur-
pose of the amendment it is nee
essary to describe briefly the
present method of financing the
schools.
In the first place the California
constitution provides that tn e
state shall furnish the schools a
sum equal to $50 per pupil average
daily attendance in both the ele-
mentary and high schools. Under
this provision the schools of I'M
perial county will receive from the
state this year $363,000. This is
left unchanged by the amendment.
Another provision of the consti-
tuition requires the board of super
visors of each county TO raise by
taxation on property a sum equal
to $50 per pupil in the elementary
schools and $50 per pupil in the
high schools. Under this provis-
ion Imperial county will levy a
tax this year to raise $469 900.
This is the provision which No. 9
will change. In addition to these
amounts each elementary and high
school district is allowed to levy a
limited amount of tax. The ele-
mentary and high school districts
of Imperial county will this year
levy to raise $4,000. This COM
pares with $4,000 levied by the
schools last year, showing the eff
fort made by the schools to econ
omize.
We therefore have our total
school budget made up as follows:
State $3.50, O0l
County 4o9, OOt
Districts .......-...---..-....-.----.--. 3oO,Oo'
$1,212 ,0Ot
Amendment No. relieves the
/ county of the necessity OF raising
the item of 1853 900 and requires
the state to furnish this amount
the legislature being instructed Il
levy an income and selectiye salei
tax in order to raise this money.
On account of the fact that I'm
perial county has a very larg'
number of school children in pro
portion to the value of its prop
erty, it has been necessary to lev,
very high rate to raise the So
and $50 per pupil required by tn
constitution. Only one county i
the state has TO levy a higher rat
than Imperial The rate requires
this year in Imperial county
s1.26 per hundred and this consti
tutes about 30 per cent Of you
tax bill.
1t is our opinion that if tn
property tax payers of Imperis
county are relieved Of this vas