Evening star., 1932-02-07
The District Is Not Undertaxed
No. s
How the Mapes Report Reached Conclusions Did
metrically Opposed to Others-Mystery OF
Its Own Figures-How United States
Obligation Is Measured.

cent valuation for the purposes OF taxa
ton, and yet the actual tax assessment
will be far below this figure.
Varying Assessment Ratios.
In respect to Minneapolis and other
Minnesota cities the State Tax Com
has said:
Ever since Minnesota became a
State we have had law among our
statutes requiring that all property
shall be assessed at its true and full
value in money Never since the tlrSt
assessor started on his thanklesS task
has property of any kind in Minnesota
been assessed at its true and 1ull
value or, with few exceptions has any
serious attempt ever been made to SO
assess it. The uniform, universal Gus
tom has been to assess at from 20 10
so per cent of actual value, and tbs
custom has had the long continued
of the people. the silent sup
port Of the laWmaking and, in large
the acquiescence of the law
enforcing departments OF the state
government"
Prof. John B. Phillips, professor of
and sociology, Indiana Uni
verslty, said at the National Tax As
sociation Conference in 1919 in respect
to Indiana assessments
AT the hearing of the special COM
mission on taxation the former tax
testified that so far as he
knew there never had been an attempt
by anybody to assess or equali2e prop
erty in the State at the true cash value,
as the law directs. The results
of the most recent investigation are
shown in table indicating the ratio
Of assessed TO true value Of land and
lots, 8,772 sales being checked up IL
50 counties by experts employed by
the special tax commission OF 1916.
According to the investigations Of these
experts employed by the commission on
taxation, who secured the real estate
transfers in 36 counties and compared
the assessed valuation with the true
valuation as found by checking up each
transfer, the average assessed value
of lands and lots in these 36 counties
was 37.79 per cent of the true value
IN 1916. The counties in which lands
and lots were assessed at the lowest
percentage Of true values were Allen
(32.O, Carroll (3018), Lagrange
81 .39), Lake (25.15), Miami t290n,
Porter (3l.53). Starke (2253), Topton
(32. .04. Counties in which lands and
lots were assessed at the highest per-
of true value were Bartholo-
new AS 02), Clark C5896), Crawford
Johnson (5039). Ohio t4545O) Scott
t41.9O). Switzerland C4479D. Wander
burg (59.49)." Thus, in these 36 coun-
ties the ratio of assessed to true value
ranges from 2253 to 1912, while the
egal ratio is 100
The Detroit Bureau Of Municipal
Research, in its 1881 report. declares
so long as a single parcel of prop
arty in a city pays tax rates for more
han one governmental unit difficulties
Will be experienced in attempting a
comparison of that cityS rates with
other cities. Some cities have a vary
ng basis of assessment for the differ
mt government units, some have vary
ing tax rates for different classes of
within the city, some have
4 consolidated rate. with only an esti-
mated basis Of distribution between
5he units"
Condition in New York.
A recent special report of the State
Tax Commission of New York says that
The failure to assess property at fair,
full market value and the widespread
assessment at varying percentages of
tull value in the same taxing district
have long baff1ed everybody interested
In the proper administration of the
general property tax. Our attempts at
assessment in New York
have had some, but nevertheless indif-
ferent. success. And with over 100 years
Of Indifferent success, amounting almost
to failure, behind U.s. the idea has
forced itself upon the COM
that other means to secure
justice and proper assessment should be
attempted. So we have had one prom
ls1ng expedient, /. E.. conditioning State
aid TO the localities on respectable as
SesSment. made the subject of a spe-
clal study which constitutes this report" "
Same Difficulty Recognized.
The same difficulty is recognized by
the MapeS Committee. 1t practically
confesseS that it is impossible to deter
mine accurately what the full assess
ment OF city may be. In its study of
this matter the committee found that
various methods are used to arrive at
a determination of the relation of as
sessed valuation to actual valuation,
none of which determines such rela-
ton with absolute accuracy"
There are so many factors to be con-
Sldered in arriving at the valuation of
property, such as the use, income, To-
cation, construction costs, reproduction
costs, depreciation, etc, that no two
minds will get to very near approach
to uniformity in determining such valu-
alton. That is particularly true of
those charged with the administration
of assessment laws"
Yet, with a breath-taking change of
view, the committee proceeds to state
that The committee believes that the
ratios tof assessed to full value) as
they appear in the statistical tables, at
tached hereto, are as accurate as it is
possible to obtain. These ratios were
obtained from the administrative Off
GERS of the municipal governments who
actually make the assessments" a state
ment that should be compared to the
committees other statement that the
of getting two minds to agree
On true valuation is particularly true
Of those charged with the administra-
ton of assessment laWs"-"and from
such organizations as real estate boards,
chambers of commerce and individual
citizens familiar with property values"
tAliN ~ 10 OlI UllC DooLo VI GllCSC ldIlOo5
so obtained by correspondence, that the
committee proceeds to do its figuring of
relative tax rates.
The committees use of these ratios
is all the more difficult to understand
in view of what the committee calls the
unsafe" method of comparing the as
sessed value of property with the price
paid for the property at voluntary sale
in order to determine the ratio of as
sessed to full value
The Only Reliable Method.
That is the method that would appear
to be the only reliable method. AS
District Assessor Richards says, if there
is safer method. he would like to
learn of it. 1t is the method approved
by the District of Columbia Supreme
Court for the guidance of the Board of
qualiZatiOn and Review. Other meth