The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1932-12-08
Chief Fault Is Irregularity of
Assessment; Major Changes
Urged

Major shortcomings of the present
Minnesota tax system, which the
author calls antiquated, are listed by
Professor Roy G. Blakey of the Uni
vers;ty of Minnesota in study OF
the Minnesota tax system, recently
completed by him, which is to be pub
lished Immediately by the University
of Minnesota Press. The study was
financed by the university's graduate
school with part of the money receiv-
ed by it two years ago from the Rock
efeller Foundation TO foster research.
DR.. Blakey's book is entirely non-po-
litical and strikes out impartially at
weaknesses in the states present sys-
tenn of taxation. Practically all of
the money spent on the book went to
the costs of field Investigations and
clerical work. The study of forest
areas and their problems was made
by the Federal Lakes States Forest
Experiment Station. In an introduce
ton credit is given to many univer-
sity people who helped produce the
manuscript
DR.. Blakey favors an income tax,
revised and more reasonable system
of taxing low-grade iron ore, and
some amendment of the Minnesota
auxiliary forest act, said now to be
wholly imperative, to make it prac-
ticable. He finds marked irregulari-
ty in the assessment and taxation of
both agricultural and urban real
estate, which he attributes to the fact
that most assessors working in Min
nesota are poorly qualified to do their
work and do not have proper public
support. Irregularity of assessment
exists, he declares, both within a CIV
en- agricultural area or urban COM
munity, and as between different
agricultural regions and different
cities and villages. Present funds
make it impossible for the tax COM
mission to supervise effectively $500
part-time assessors.
When income from the land itself
is taken into consideration, as part
from the total income of the owner,
agricultural lands produce an income
that is seriously depleted, first, by
taxes, but more especially by mort
gage interest in the case of lands
that are subject to mortgage. In
the case of rented agricultural lands.
taxes took 45.S per cent of the actual
income from the land in 1930-'31. In
the case of owner-operated agrlcul-
tural lands, taxes took 34.5 per cent
of the owners income from the land
alone, or 1914 per cent of his entire
income from land, labor and equip
ment. This was in the case of lands
not subject to mortgage.
The author found that 60 per cent
of all owner-operated farms were
mortgaged for an amount to 60 per-
cent of their appraised value. Taxes
took in that year, 1930-'31, ia per
cent of the entire net income of the
owners of mortgaged lands operated
by its owners, while an additional 19
per cent was required to pay inter-
est on the mortgage. Throughout
the study it was found that the mort
gage interest on mortgaged lands
amounted roughly to twice the tax
payments on the same.
Among the sensational findings of
the study was the fact that in the
case of mortgaged farm that was
rented, mortgage interest alone re-
quired about SO per cent of the in
come of the land alone, before pay
ment of taxes.
Of the assessment of agricultural
lands Professor Blakey states the fol-
lowing conclusions:
There is a marked irregularity in
assessing, and this applies to all an
giles of assessment, within a district
and between districts that are COM
pared.
Almost universally, the more val
liable farms are under-assessed, act
ually and by comparison with the less
valuable farms. The value of build
ings and improvements seems to in
filuence assessments less than the
value of land.
Lands owned by non-residents of a
county are over-assessed by compar-
ison with lands owned by a resident
of the county in which they lie.
Most assessors are not we'll quail
fed tn do their lob. although thew are