Report of the Sub-Committee of the REVENUE COMMITTEE House of Representatives Fifty-first General Assembly SUBJECT: The Assessment of Property in Illinois Issued by the Order of the Revenue Committee C. A. YOUNG, Chairman Assessment of Hog's in Winnebago County, 1918. The Work of Fifteen Township Assessors. The average valuations range from $H .15 in the lowest township to $24.75 in the high- est. The County Board of Review did not attempt to equalize these valuations — they found it an impossible job that could only be done by re-assessing the hogs in several of the townships. There was no Supervision over the Township Assessors who made the original assessment. i-rau in £ 336 . 2 . IM3* rnrs n Report of Sub-Committee on Assessment of Property. OLBERT, who was Master of Finance to Louis XIV, is reported to have defined taxation as “the art of so plucking the goose as to procure the largest quantity of feathers with the least o possible amount of squawking.” Assuming that Colbert’s definition is correct, no one who has paid the slightest attention to the subject can fail to perceive that, judg- ing from the amount of “squawking” now going on in Illinois, the art of taxation is practically one of the lost arts. Because of the belief that a profitable investigation could be made of the administrative machinery of taxa- tion in Illinois, this committee was appointed to study the subject and make a report of their findings. During the legislative session, with hundreds of bills pending in House and Senate, in which the members of this committee are interested, and owing to the very limited time at the disposal of the committee for collect- ing data and formulating a report, it can hardly be expected that all will be said on this important subject that might profitably be called to the attention of the members of the General Assembly. The committee has, however, collected enough material from the tax books and records of the various counties and the reports of the State Board of Equalization to establish the fact that the administration of taxation in Illinois has broken down so completely that the only hope of betterment lies along the lines of the installation of new equipment. Like a piece of machinery which has seen years of service, it has come to the point where further repairs seem useless and a new modern and improved equipment should be in- stalled in its place. Our present administrative machinery was established in 1872 , and in the 47 years which have gone by since it was created, many new and improved devices have been originated and are being used with unqualified suc- cess by other states, and Illinois stands today far in the 3 rear of all the states in the Union in the method of assessing property for the purposes of taxation. The theory upon which the general property tax is based is exceedingly simple. It is founded on two fun- r damental principles : (1) Every citizen of the State shall contribute to the 5 support of the government in proportion to his ability s to pay. ( 2 ) The measure of every person’s ability to pay shall be the amount of property which he possesses. The theory pre-supposes two fundamental ideas : (a) That all property shall be listed for taxation; (b) That it shall all be valued on the same basis. It has been the purpose of this committee to ascertain how far we have wandered from the basic principles of the general property tax in Illinois and to point out where we believe improvements can be made. Is All Property Listed For Taxation? Any school boy starting out on an investigation of this question would have no difficulty in arriving at an answer. The total full value of all personal property listed for taxation in Illinois, according to the tabulations of the State Board of Equalization, amounts to $1,751,969,163, while the combined bank deposits Of Illinois banks in November, 1918, amounted to over $2,000,000,000, not including money deposited in private banks. Inasmuch as bank deposits are a part of personal property and liable to taxation, we find in Illinois that a single class of personalty exists which is larger in amount than the entire personalty assesed for taxation. The law originally commanded a “full value” assess- ment. In 1898 undervaluations had become so general throughout the State that the legislature recognized them by passing an act making valuations for the purpose of taxation, one-fifth of true value. Two columns were provided in assessment schedules, one in which the assessor was to set down the full fair cash value and the other in which he was to extend one-fifth of the amount as the assessed value. Ten years ago the fraction was raised from one-fifth to one-third by legislative enactment. No well defined reason for departing from the fair cash value has ever been published. It probably was the thought of the former legislatures in passing this legislation that the method would result in full values being given in to the assessing officer by the tax payer because only one-third of the amount would be listed for taxation. The actual result, however, has been just the opposite. While “full value” assessment does not necessarily mean a good or uniform assessment, it tends strongly in that direction. Percentage valuations are well calculated to conceal inequalities and furnish golden opportunities for discrim- ination. Higher valuations make inequalities stand out more strongly whereas under percentage assessments they readily escape the attention of the taxpayer. There is probably no assessment district in Illinois where the law is being strictly obeyed. In some districts the assessor makes his valuations reasonably close to cash value and in others the valuations are made on a basis that seems to ignore such cash values entirely. An errone- ous notion seems to prevail in the minds of both the tax- payer and the assessment officers that raising the assessed valuations increases the total amount of taxation of a city or county. The fact is that the amount of taxes raised by a city or county depends upon what the legislative bodies of the respective divisions decide is necessary for public purposes and is in no way affected by assessed values. The assessor who lives up to his oath of office can not be found in Illinois. The oath subscribed to by assessment officers in Illinois reads, in part, as follows: “I do solemnly swear that I will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State ot Illinois and that I will faithfully discharge all the duties ot the office of Assessor to the best of my ability; that I will without fear or favor appraise all the property at its fair cash value, said value to be ascertained at what the property would bring at a voluntary sale in due course of business and trade,” etc. The reason that all assessment officers are ignoring their oath of office is because each knows the assessor in the neighboring district is doing it and because there is 50103 no supervising head over the entire system in the State. Most of the opposition to the strict enforcement of the law would disappear if taxpayers would admit the under- lying principles that all students of taxation know to be true : (1) Taxes are made by those who vote appropriations. ( 2 ) Increasing the assessed value of all assessment districts throughout the state would not increase the total amount of the taxes raised in any city, county or other taxing division. (3) The assessor has nothing to do with making taxes. His whole duty consists in apportioning the burden which has been made by those who voted the appropriations. There is no feature of goverment in Illinois that causes more discontent than the certain knowledge on the part of taxpayers that all property is not valued alike as a basis for apportioning the tax burden and that a large amount of property escapes the assessing officer entirely. This government is founded on the principle that all men shall be treated alike and special favors granted to none. No officer of the law has a greater opportunity county in the State (except those counties under county organization where one assessment officer has charge of the entire assessment), but the lack of uniformity be- tween the average valuation of various classes of person- alty between counties is, if anything, still worse. The average valuation of horses in Hardin county is $109.77 each, and in Pulaski county, $48.51 each. The illustra- tion on the opposite page by Ward Blaisdell shows the high and low average values by counties on horses, sheep, steam engines, pianos, watches and clocks and sewing machines. According to the report of the State Board of Equali- zation, automobiles average higher in value in Hardin county than in any other county in the State. In this connection it is interesting to note that Hardin county was until this year one of the two counties in Illinois without a railroad. In Hardin county the local as- sessors made their automobiles average $365.79 each. From that point they gradually declined in value to $70.68 each in Pulaski county. The picture on Page Springfield, Illinois, December 12, 1918. To the Honorable State Board of Equalization. Gentlemen : Your Committee on Equalization of Personal Property reports the result of its labors as embraced in the accompanying- tables, which are made a part of this report. We have ascertained the rate per cent of addition to or deduction from the assessed value of personal property in each of the several counties of the State to bring the same to the State average. We have considered the relative value of personal property in each county, and it is the opinion and judgment of this committee that the personal property in the various counties in the State should remain as assessed by the local assessors and county boards of review, believing said assessed values to be just and equitable as between the several counties in the State. We, therefore, recommend that no addition to or deduction from the assessed value of personal property in any of the counties be made, in order that an equalization by this board may be maintained. Respectfully submitted, John E. Shackleton, Chairman. Thomas M. Ryan, Bruno S. Mindak, E. W. Hilker, Frank A. West, D. F. Sullivan, W. G. Kent, Committee on Equalization of Personal Property. Report of Personal Property Committee Which was Adopted by the Board. to make this ideal a practical reality than the local assessor. In order to bring before the members of the General Assembly conditions as they actually exist in Illinois, a number of tax maps of different counties have been made up, showing the average full value of various classes of personal property as found by the local assessors in the different townships in each county. Accompanying each map is a table showing the high average, the low average and the range in values. Those who have paid little or no attention to the work of township assessors in Illinois will find the figures given on these maps interest- ing and hard to believe. To those who are skeptical, we can only say that the absurd lack of uniformity, as shown to exist on the maps printed herewith, can be found by stepping into any county clerk’s office in the State of Illinois and examining the books of the various township assessors of any county. Lack of Uniformity Between Counties. Not only is there an almost unbelievable lack of uni- formity of valuations between the townships of every 6 shows the average values placed by the local township assessor in several of the principal counties where an uninformed person would naturally think that fairly good automobiles might be found. Attention is called to the chart on Page 7, where the average valuation in household and office furniture per family is shown. The chart was made up by taking the total valuation of household goods in each county and dividing it by the number of families, as shown by the United States Census report. From this chart it appears that the most expensive household goods in the State are to be found in McHenry county. The average fair cash value of household furniture there is a trifle over $110 per family. In Cook county the furniture averages only $40 per family, and in Edgar and Jefferson county the valuation drops to about $25. Not all of the counties of the State are shown on this chart but enough are given to convey the impression that the standards of valuations of household furniture throughout the State vary to a much greater extent than a casual visitor traveling through the State would imagine. High and Low Averages by Counties, 1918. Note the report on opposite page made by the Personal Property Committee after looking over these figures. _* §]DS Ar'/Wa J %3 (d 5". T ^1 S3ZL, J»(^ ' ljsfel!£MEEE A ”Wv' T' 7)): _/ " # 3fcX. £ U #r -ft M C L3/\N ffID T=>ft -4- u^otrvvvwij lev ^ *-{£s/ &! ifei.qio -t. *4*. LkSkv.v'l B CA/fi/youz^, (LtiAJLi ^ 2fc>.^l«5^ Cv -C 27 " J •> ^ _ /// / l70 • bS I f/O 0 20 030 0*0 0-00 0&O #70 030 090 0/00 0//O 0/20 ? HENRY AKE NNEBAGO 'J PAGE r NO ALL /anpa/gn E PH EPSON 7CK ISLAND DONE ] NGAMON £■ KALB f E ANE VOX 'OQUOIS US •AC ON V/NGSTON DAMS H/TES/DE C LEAN <\NKAKEE ENAPD SLE OGAN A SALLE AD/SON HR /ST /AN COR/A JLTON UREAU APD/N RUNDY C DONOUGH ACOUP/N r CLA/R .IN TON OOP y DA V/ESS 1 RNt/L/ON « IS PER , A YE TTE i OGAR , EFERSON or OFF/CE <£ HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE PER PAM/LY /s/a Assessment of Intangibles Intangibles. One of the most startling bits of information contained in the annual report of the State Board of Equalization, which is soon ready for distribution, is found in the amount of loans and credits of individuals which have been assessed in the various counties of the State. Win- nebago county is the thirteenth county in the State in population. The census gives it a total of something over 63,000 inhabitants, but notwithstanding its comparatively small population, it occupies the proud position of having first place on the list. Cook county is a close second. In the chart shown on the opposite page, the relative pro- portions of mortgage loans in Winnebago and Cook county are shown, as are the relative proportions of population. This chart is drawn to an accurate scale and visualizes the absurd condition better than figures can express it. The people of Winnebago county will no doubt be overjoyed to learn these facts. WINNEBAGO 6M53 COOK 2,405,253 RELATIVE POPULATION OE WINNEBAGO AND COOK COUNTIES RELATIVE ASSESSED VALUE OE LOANS AND CREDITS ASSESSMENT OF 1918 Assessment of Manufactories Assessed Value #$0/7.770 Materia / <£■ Mon ufactured Articles Assessed Value CHICAGO Vo/ ue of Hroc/ud /, ^8/S.S/d, OOO It is apparent that the assessors of Cook county have their own peculiar system of fixing values. According to the government statistics, there are 10,114 manufac- turing plants in Chicago, to say nothing of those in Cook county outside of the city limits. These factories employ 386,794 hands and the government estimates the annual value of their product at nearly one and one-half billion dollars. These plants are assessed on tools, materials and manufactured articles. The combined assessed value of these items of property in Cook county is $8,110,586. The remainder of the State has a total of 8,274 plants, employing 231,136 hands, and produces an annual product valued at $764,000,000, according to the government esti- mate. The total assessed value of the material and manufactured articles and of the tools of down-state manufacturers amounts to $13,989,619, over 50% more than Cook county. The respective assessed values are Va/ue of Hr o dud 76^S09, OOO shown on the chart on this page, which is drawn to an accurate scale. To get the full fair cash value, these figures must be multiplied by 3, which produces the following result : 10,114 Chicago plants assessed at $24,331,758.00. 8,274 down-state plants assessed at $41,968,857.00. The spokesman(?) of the Chicago manufacturers, in his “Weekly Medium of Industrial Communication,” questions whether the people are ready for a bill which will turn “topsy-turvey” the taxation system of Illinois. Contemplation of the above figures would lead one to believe that both the “down-state” manufacturer and the small-home owner of Chicago, whom he seeks to warn of impending danger, might not be entirely unwilling to take a chance on a different plant of fixing valuations in Cook county: Assessment of Banks. RULES FOR LISTING THE PROPERTY AND BUSINESS OF BANKS, BANKERS, BROKERS AND STOCK JOBBERS. 30. Listing and valuing property of banks, etc.] § 30. Every bank (other than banks incorported under the banking laws of this State or of the United States), banker, broker or stock jobber, shall at the time fixed by this Act for listing personal property, make out and furnish the assessor a sworn statement showing: First, the amount of money on hand or in transit. Second, the amount of funds in the hands of other banks, bankers, brokers or others, subject to draft. Third, the amount of checks or other cash items; the amount thereof not being included in either of the preceding items. Fourth, the amount of bills receivable, discounted or purchased, and other credits, due or to become due, including accounts receivable, and interest accrued but not due, and interest due and unpaid. Fifth, the amount of bonds and stocks of every kind, and shares of capital stock or joint stock of other companies or corporations, held as an investment, or any way representing assets. Sixth, all other property appertaining to said business, other than real es- tate (which real estate shall be listed and assessed as other real estate is listed and assessed under this Act). Seventh, the amount of all deposits made with them by other parties. Eighth, the amount of all accounts payable other than cur- rent deposit accounts. Ninth, the amount of bonds and other securities exempt by law from taxation, specifying the amount and kind of each, the same being included in the preceding fifth item. The aggregate amount of the first item shall be listed as moneys. The amount of the sixth item shall be listed the same as other similar personal property is listed under this Act. The aggregate amount of the seventh and eighth items shall be deducted from the aggregate amount of the second, third and fourth items of said statement and the amount of the remainder, if any, shall be listed as credit. The aggregate amount of the ninth item shall be deducted from the aggregate amount of the fifth item of such statement, and the remainder shall be listed as bonds or stocks. ASSESSMENT OF * MONEY AND CREDITS OF BANKS OF COOK CO. $ 29 , 786 , 569 - 1 9i<3 ASSESSMENT OF MONEV AND CREDITS OF BANKS OUT SIDE COQK CO. $ 62 . 020 , 14 - 0 . I9lfi>. COMBINED CAPITAL SURPLUS AN D UNDIVIDED PROFITS STATE AND NATIONAL BANKS or CHICAGO. NOV $210,269,000- 191s JL COMBINED CAPITAL SURPLUS AND UNDIVIDED PROFITS C-F STATE AND NATIONAL BANKS OUT SIDE CITY OF GHIGA&O. N0V sie7,r69,ooo")*' The above chart drawn on an accurate scale shows the relative financial strength and relative assess- ment borne by banks in Cook county, and the re- mainder of the State. From this chart it appears that although the capital, surplus and undivided profits of country banks is only a little over one-half that of the city of Chicago, yet they are assessed at over twice as much. #300 # 600 #900 #/ZOO #/SOO '#'30, ADAMS WHITESIDE PEORIA MORGAN MC LEAN WINNEBAGO DEKALB KANE S TEPHENS Oh!\ ROCK ISLAND BOONE SANGAMON LEE KNOX LAKE VERMILION KANKAKEE MC DONOUGH WILL OGLE LIVINGSTON LOGAN EDGAR IROQUOIS ST CLAIR DU PAGE WOODFORD MERCER MACOUPIN BUREAU AVERAGE VALUATION of Town and City’ L0T3 Including, /m prove ment 3 A^s Assesse d //v Some op te/e Principal Gount/ee of /ll/p/o/s 1313 Springfield, Illinois, December 12, 1918. To the Honorable State Board of Equalization. Gentlemen : Your Committee on the Equalization of Town and City Lots respectfully reports the result of its efforts to equalize the assessment of said property in the tabular statement hereto attached, which is made a part of this report. We have considered the relative value of these lots with the other property of the State and it is the judgment of this committee that the town and city lots in the various counties in the State should stand as assessed by the local assessors and county boards of review, believing said assessed values to be just and equitable as between counties and with the other property assessed by the State. We. therefore, recommend that no additions to or deductions from the assessed value of town and city lots in any of the counties be made, in order that an equalization by this board may be maintained. Respectfully submitted, H. T. Nightingale, Chairman. Bruno S. Mindak, Frank A. West, Thomas M. Ryan, Frank A. Wharton, D. F. Velde, Committee on Equalization of Town and City Lots. Assessment of Town and City Lots. On the opposite page the reader’s attention is called to the variation in average values in town and city lots. The average full value of lots we find in Bureau county to be a trifle over $345.00, including improve- ments ; while in Adams county the houses and lots of the county average over $1,580.00 each. Various other coun- ties of the State are shown on the chart, ranging in value between these figures, and the Board of Equalization in its report of the assessment on town and city lots says that they have “considered the relative value of these lots and believe the assessed values to be just and equitable be- tween the counties.” If these figures represent true values the man who owns five houses and lots in Bureau county is no better off than the owner of one house and lot in Adams county. Nothwithstanding the conclusion of the Board of Equalization in this matter, this committee be- lieves that a purchaser going out to purchase a home would find the actual situation quite different. Tax Evasions in Cook County. An effort has been made by the committe to get some idea of the extent of tax evasions in Cook county. We read and hear discussions throughout a legislative session of the financial difficulties of Chicago and Cook county. Lack of sufficient funds to properly run the city and county institutions present at each session of the Gen- eral Assembly food for much discussion and an excuse for the managing officers to fill the lobbies of the House and Senate, asking for an extension of tax limitations, or an exemption from the operations of the Juul law. We have no doubt that with rising prices and the shrinkage in the purchasing power of money, all their inability to run and finance their respective governments are true. We doubt, however, that the remedy lies along the line they are working on. We do believe that there is a rem- edy and a complete one at that, and that they need go no further than the Board of Assessors in Cook county to find it. There are tax evasions and under-valuations in every part of the State, but no where can they be found in such wholesale quantities as in the city of Chicago. Chicago contains the largest livestock market and the greatest grain market of any city in the world. Nearly ten million hogs, five million sheep and four million cattle were re- ceived and sold in the Chicago markets during the year 1918. Besides its tremendous livestock market, Cook county contains a large area of farming lands, and ac- cording to government statistics has 5,663 farms with an average of 68 acres each. Notwithstanding these facts we find from the report of the State Board of Equaliza- tion that there were assessed in Cook county last year : 26,500 cattle, ___ 683 sheep, 8,085 hogs. We have not taken the trouble to ascertain who owned this livestock or in whose name it was assessed, but we assume that in all probability it was assessed to the 5,663 farmers of Cook county. The point that we do desire to bring to the attention of the Legislature is that on the morning of April 1, 1918, according to the published records of the daily press, the following livestock was received at the stock yards and disposed of to Chicago packers and other large buyers : Cattle, 21,000. Sheep, 12,000. Hogs, 55,000. This stock was sold on the forenoon of April 1, 1918. A record of the transactions can be found by anyone who takes the slightest interest in the matter. Section 309 of the Revenue Act of this State reads as follows : ‘‘Personal property shall be valued as and in the manner required by law. There shall be listed between the first day of April and the first day of June of each year, when required by the Assessor, with reference to the quantity held or owned on the first day of April in the year for which the property is required to be listed. Personal property purchased or acquired on the first day of April shall he listed hy or for the person purchasing or acquiring it.” Notwithstanding the fact that there is absolutely no ambiguity regarding the law and absolutely no doubt regarding the amount and fair cash value of live stock bought at Chicago on April 1, it is a matter of great sur- prise to find that out of 12,000 sheep purchased in Chicago on April 1, the Board of Assessors listed only 683 in Cook county or less than 6%, and out of 55,000 hogs, only 8,085, or about 15% per cent, reached the assessment rolls. Assessment of Grain. Chicago is the greatest grain market in the world. It contains 67 public and private warehouses with a com- bined capacity of over 57,000,000 bushels. An accurate account of the amount of storage grain is kept and can be obtained by the Board of Assessors of Cook county as easily as it was obtaned by the members of this committee. The records show that on April 1, 1918, the following amounts of grain were stored in Chicago elevators : Wheat, 94,200 bushels. Corn, 4,761,000 bushels. Oats, 6,617,000 bushels. Rye, 465,000 bushels. Barley, 818,000 bushels. STORED GRAIN APRIL Lst -igie M7J7&700. i GRAIN ASSESSED COOK CO. 1916- $ 799 , 644 . At current market prices on April 1, 1918, this grain was worth the sum of $17,778,700. Notwithstanding the fact that all of this grain could have been located by any one who took the slightest trouble to find it, we find from the State Board of Equalization report that the total full value of all grain in Cook county on April 1, 1918, was $799,644.00, or less than 5% of the amount held in storage by grain speculators in Chicago. On the accom- panying chart, which is drawn on an accurate scale, is shown the relative amount of grain which ab- solutely escaped taxation last year, and the amount which was listed for taxation. We have no doubt that an investigation of the facts would disclose that the grain which was listed on the assessment roll is charged to the 5,663 farmers of Cook county, and that the mil- lionaire grain dealers of Chicago escaped assessment en- tirely on this very valuable item of personal property. In the opinion of this committee, a bushel of grain in the warehouse of a millionaire speculator in Cook county is just as assessable as a bushel of grain in a farmer’s corn crib in Sangamon county. Before leaving this subject, we wish to call the atten- tion of the Board of Assessors to the fact that there was in storage in Chicago on April 1, 1919 : 14,343,000 bushels of wheat, 449,000 bushels of corn, 4.106.00 bushels of oats, 2.463.000 bushels of rye, 2.704.000 bushels of barley. The farmers throughput the State are anxious to have this grain listed for taxation, inasmuch as it will have a direct bearing on the amount they will have to pay for the support of the government of this State. While this matter is of importance to all taxpayers throughout the State, it is of far greater importance to the small-home owner of Chicago who finds his tax bill so large every year that in order to meet it his family must be deprived of some of the necessities of life. Assessment of Automobiles in Cook County. Possibly the Board of Assessors of Cook county may be able to invent some excuse for their failure to list all of the livestock and grain known to have been sold or stored in Chicago on April 1, 1918, but it is difficult to imagine how they can justify themselves when the assessment of automobiles is reached. COUNTIES COOK BUREAU ST. CLAIR LAKE vermluon WINNE BA6Q MS.HENRV MACOUPIN WILL WHITESIDE ROCK ISLAND JASPER LIVINGSTON K NOX JEPFRSON CHAMPAIGN LEE GRUN DV OGLE SANGAMON LA. SALLE MACON CARROLL MSLEAN FRANKLIN KANE M2 DONOU&H PERCENTAGE 5 10 15 20 25 30 55 40 PERCENTAGE OE POPULATION FILING PERSONAL PROPERTY SCHEDULES 1917. There are two sources of information regarding the ownership of automobiles in the city of Chicago; one is the published reports of the Automobile Department of the Secretary of State’s office, and the other is the records of the Wheel Tax License kept by the City Clerk of Chicago. The records of the City Clerk’s office in Chicago show that in April, 1918, the following motor vehicles were carrying wheel tax license in the city of Chicago: Motor vehicles 3,696 Automobiles under 35 horse power 55,689 Automobiles over 35 horse power 2,797 Light trucks 9,412 Heavy trucks 5,423 Demonstrating cars 904 Total 77,921 TOTAL NUMBER OF AUTOMOBILE'S TAXED IN COOK CO. BV BOARD OF ASSES50R.S. APRlL,igiO. TOTA L NUMBER OF WHE-EL TAX LICENSES ON AUTOMOBILES IN CHICAGO. APRIL, 1916. TOTAL NUMBER OE WHEEL TAX LICENSES ON CARRIAGES AND WAGON 5 IN CHICAGO. APRIL. 1916. Of this number the Board of Assessors succeeded in finding only 18,152 cars, or less than 25%. Many of these, no doubt, being owned by residents of the county outside of the city of Chicago and therefore not included in the above list. The accompanying chart is drawn on an accurate scale and shows the exact number licensed by the City Clerk and the exact number taxed by the County Board of Assessors. Attention is called to the fact that the name and address of the owner of each car can be obtained for the asking and that there can be no excuse for not listing this property other than a willful determination of the assessing officers to violate their oath of office and the law. From this hasty examination of a few of the different classes of property assessment of Cook county, any fair- minded man can hardly fail to come to the conclusion that the principal financial difficulties of Chicago should not be met with extensions of the power to throw a heavier burden on property that is now on the assessment rolls, but rather an effort should be made to list all property and to list it at its fair cash value. Not only is the small tax- payer of Chicago interested in seeing this accomplished, but every taxpayer of the State has an interest in the matter, and the law should give the State the right, through its proper officers, to insist upon it being done, and if the local assessors refuse to act, authority should be given the supervising authority of the State to send in assessors from the outside representing the people of the State of Illinois who will do it. “Home Rule” in tax- ation matters has always proven a failure wherever tried and the city of Chicago is no exception to the rule. After careful consideration of the facts as shown in the foregoing report, the committee is firmly convinced that the asressment of property in Illinois is in such a chaotic condition that it is hardly possible for it to be- come any worse. Payment of taxes in Illinois is today very much like passing the contribution box in church — each puts in what he pleases. The system is without a head and the puny efforts of boards of review and the State Board of Equalization to unscramble the mess created by the township assessors is of no avail. Mil- lions of dollars of property of those most able to pay escapes assessment entirely and the burden of taxation is being borne by the small home owner whose ability to bear it is being strained to the breaking point. We believe that the chief difficulty is that there is no responsible head to the system. A fair and honest enforcement of the revenue law is the most important function of State government. There can be no fair and honest enforcement of the tax laws of the State unless there is created a central authority with power to control the assessment of every taxing district in the State. There are over one thousand assessment officers in the State who work with little or no super- vision, each one measuring property values with his own “yard stick” and when their work is finally turned in to the County Treasurer, it is often found that hogs in one township are assessed at $5.00 each and in the ad- joining township $25.00 each. The central authority charged with the duty of en- forcing the law must have time and funds at its disposal to hire sufficient skilled help to make certain that local assessors are interpreting and enforcing the law in a uniform manner in every county in the State. They must be provided with sufficient funds and sufficient force to procure the necessary information upon which alone intelligent action can be based. No work of such an administrative body can be more important than the collection and compilation of data regarding the value of property. Values cannot and should not be deter- mined by the assessors. Values are determined by the men who buy and sell property. The business of the tax administrator should be to find out what purchasers pay for various classes of property and make the com-| putations with that as a basis. The men who make “fair! cash values” are the men who buy and sell. Tax ad-E ministrators should not presume to inject their judgment J of values of real estate or other property in determining" what assessments should be made. They should, how- ever, collect all possible data of sales made so that the judgment of the purchaser and the seller may be made the basis for determining true values, of every class of property in every part of the State. Your committee believes that there is nothing that will help to reform our revenue law more than the col- lection and publication of accurate facts. While we believe that the establishment of a Tax Commission will result in making our revenue law something more than a “scrap of paper”, we wish also to call the atten- tion of the members of the Assembly to the assessment made in Wabash, Cass and Menard Counties, as shown on the maps printed herewith. These counties are all under county organization. Township assessors are not elected, but under the law the County Treasurer is ex- officio the assessor for the entire county. In these counties the County Treasurer divides his county into assessment districts and appoints a deputy assessor for each district. There is direct supervision over the work of the assessing officer in these counties and the result can be plainly seen in the greater degree of uniformity in valuations which obtain in different parts of the same county. Range of Values on Hogs. The following states have abandoned the township assessor and are now being assessed by county assessors : Alabama Mississippi Arizona Montana Arkansas New Mexico California Nevada Colorado North Carolina Florida Oklahoma Georgia Oregon Idaho Tennessee Kansas Utah Kentucky Virginia Louisiana West Virginia Maryland Wyoming Probably the time has not arrived as yet for making a similar change in Illinois, but we believe that the trend of public opinion among those who have given the matter thought and who believe in a “square deal” in assess- ments is towards making a similar change in Illinois. The objection is frequently heard that such a plan would infringe on the principle of “Home Rule”. Such an argument is based on a false conception of the prin- ciple of “Home Rule”. No one would dispute that cities should have the right to control their affairs which are purely local in nature, or the township should have the same right in matters of local government in which the inhabitants of the township alone are interested. Taxation of property for the support of the county and State is not such an affair. Every taxpayer in the State has a direct interest in the manner in which the burden of running the State government is being apportioned and every taxpayer in the county has a direct interest in the assessment of property in the various townships, for on the basis of the assessment thus made he is re- quired to contribute his share for the maintenance of county government. What really is insisted upon in the name of “Home Rule” is not “Home Rule”, but merely the privilege of local nullification. Too often, under our present system, assessors are elected term after term because they deal gently with a few wealthy men in the township who are in practical control of the political machinery of their local community. The assessment of property is in this day and age something more than it was fifty years ago. Today it calls for special knowledge and skill and ample time to do the necessary work involved in making a just and fair apportionment of the cost of government. Any- one who will take the time and trouble to visit any coun- ty of the State and look over the township assessment books will have no trouble in locating work of township assessors where clerical errors are so numerous that it has to be almost entirely revised by the county officers. It is a matter of common knowledge that in popular elections, the ignorant man who is a good hand shaker will often be the popular choice, while the voters will pass by him whose only chief qualification is to do a piece of technical work in the way it should be done. Oaths and penalties which are prescribed for both assessor and taxpayer are of little avail. A recent writer on taxation says that “the method of requiring an oath as to the accuracy of the return, coupled with severe penalties attached to all perjury have been found by experience to be of very doubtful expediency. The history of taxation in the United States has long since established the fact, on documentary evidence, that it has made perjury habitual in tax assessments. The danger of using the oath in connection with self-assess- ment of taxes lies in the fact that besides its evil effect on morals, it still further increases the inequality of assessments ; one part of the taxpayers will have their conscience aroused by the oath, while others do not, so that the inequalities to be expected under any system of self-assessment will simply be augmented.” Before the present revenue law was passed the asses- sors of this State were permitted to administer an oath to each person filing a schedule ; the act, however, was not mandatory. Under the present Revenue Act the assessor is compelled by law to administer the oath to every person making out a schedule. Furthermore, the assessor may examine under oath any person whom he may suppose to have knowledge of the personal property of anyone who refuses to fill out his schedule. A special oath is also required where debts are pre- sented to offset credits. Sections 19 and 20 of the Act of 1898 reads as fol- lows : “Schedule — penalty fob not making. The assessor shall require every person to make, sign, and swear to the schedule provided for by this act. If any person shall refuse to make the schedule herein required, or to subscribe and swear to the same, the assessor shall list the property of such person according to his best knowledge, information and judgment, at its fair cash value, and shall add to the valuation of such list an amount equal to fifty per cent of such valuation. Whoever in making such schedule shall wilfully swear falsely in any material matter shall be guilty of perjury and punished accordingly. “Pebsons refusing to sign and sweab to schedule — duty of assessor — penalty. The assessor, deputy as- sessor or some other person duly authorized by law to administer oaths, shall administer the oath or affirm- ation attached to the assessment -schedule as provided by law, to each person or proper officer of corporation so as- sessed, and such person or officer of such corporation shall be required to sign said assessment schedule and swear to the same, and in case any one refuses so to do, the assessor shall note the fact in the column of remarks opposite such person’s name; and any assessor failing to have said assess- ment schedule so signed by the person assessed and an oath administered as required by law, or failing to make such note that the person or proper officer of the corporation refuses so to do, shall for each offense be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000).” Your Committee does not believe that any penalties can be devised which would scare tax dodgers into telling the truth. There is an amendment which however could well be made, which would no doubt bring some relief to tax- payers in Cook County. We have been informed that each year in Cook Coun- ty, the Board of Assessors under the authority given them in the above quoted section, make out and file assessments aggregating millions of dollars against some of the wealthiest citizens of the county, who absolutely refuse to schedule their property as the law requires. The assessments finally reach the Cook County Board of Review and are each year by them cancelled. Your committee regrets that it has had insufficient time to investigate the extent of these exemptions by the Cook County Board of Review in recent years, but would suggest the simple remedy which is now the law in many of the states of the Union, viz : “Any citizen who refuses to make out and swear to his schedule as the law provides shall be deprived of the right to be heard by the Board of Review on any assessment which the assessing officers make against him.” We must not make a scarecrow of the law, Setting it up to fear the birds of prey And let it keep one shape till custom make it Their perch and not their terror. — Shakespeare. An Example of the Equalization of Farm Lands Report of Committee on Equalization of Iiand. Springfield, Illinois, December 12, 1918. To the Honorable State Board of Equalization. . , , . . . , , , Gentlemen: Your committee having charge of the equalization of lands begs leave to report and herewith submits a tabulated state- ment of its work as a part of its report. Your committee, after due deliberation and consideration, is of the opinion that the assessed value of lands in the various counties of the State should remain as fixed by the various boards of review. Believing said assessed valuation to be just and equitable between the several counties of the State, we, therefore, recommend that no additions to or deductions from the assessed value of lands as returned by the various county boards of review be made. Respectfully submitted, H. S. Williams, Chairman. Ralph Proctor, Wm. T. Hollenbeck, Charles J. Ewerts, Frank A. Wharton, W. G. Kent, Committee on Equalization of Lands. RESOLUTION. Passed by Illinois State Grange, at Convention held at Galva, HI., January 23, 1919 Taxation. Land tenantry is rapidly increasing, farm property is concentrating in the hands of wealthy land holders. Taxes should be so levied as to encourage home owning and discourage land speculation and tenantry. The income and inheri- tance tax laws should be framed so that a much larger proportion should be taken from large incomes and fortunes, to the end that the tax may be most justly placed and easily borne. Since taxes eventually rest upon the consumer, and since the farmer is a large consumer, we would strongly recom- mend that every State and Subordinate Grange make an active campaign looking to a more careful expenditure of public money. Whereas, It is evident from the records of taxing authorities of the various counties of the State, that the assessment of property in the State of Illinois is being conducted with little or no attention to uniformity of assessment, and Whereas, It is also evident from tax records of the state that a very large part of the property of the state is bearing no tax burden whatever, and Whereas, It is evident from the reports of various public officials throughout the state of Illinois that meager re- turns are being received on the deposits of public funds throughout the state. Therefore be it Resolved, That the Illinois State Grange in convention assembled, declare it to be the belief of this organization that the revision of the Revenue Act of the State of Illinois is a matter of the most urgent necessity, and that the Grange calls upon the Governor and the Members of the General Assembly to make such changes in the law as will tend to pro- duce greater uniformity in the assessment of property throughout the State, and that we recommend that the State Board of Equalization be reduced to a body of not exceeding three members, one or more to be farmers, to remain in session throughout the year. And we further recommend that said Board be given the power to supervise and regulate the work of the local asses- sors. We further recommend that the Governor and the General Assembly make investigation of the revenues derived as Interest on deposits of public funds in the various townships, counties, and the State of Illinois, with the view of making such changes in the law governing such deposits as may secure to the people of the greatest possible return thereon consistent with safety. Be it further Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and to each mem- ber of the General Assembly. The State Board of Equalization and the Assessment of Railroads in Illinois. MILEAGE S960 -VALUATION ¥ r4-^ttT©,550. ^ __ |i| ~i fl i == T 1 X 4 ll 1 j 1 1 i IJ 1 1 o lF 1 ll s MILE ACrE 11359 VALUATION f 579.004,848 ASSESSMENT OF 1917. Note: — In 1918 the Illinois assessment was raised a trifle over 2% making a total full valuation of $593,020,923. The Committee on the Assessment of Railroad Property presented the following report through its chairman, Mr. Malone: Springfield, Illinois, December 12, 1918. To the Honorable State Board of Equalization. Gentlemen: Your Committee on the Assessment of Railroad Property respectfully reports that they have carefully examined the schedules and statements furnished by the various railroad compan ies, and by the Auditor of Public Accounts of railroad property, denominated by law "rolling stock,’’ in the respective returns of said railroad companies as a part of schedule "A” of railroad track, and have also included in such respective assessment shops or other buildings and improvements belonging to said railroad companies, respectively, on said lands, lots and blocks so described in sched ule “A” of railroad track. Your committee would further report that they have assessed according to the rules and principles adopted by this board, the capital stock including the franchise of all railroad companies contained in schedule ”B’’ which is made a part of this report. Your committee further reports that it has valued and equalized the capital stock including the franchise of each and every railroad company created under the laws of this State, in accordance with the rules and principles adopted by this board for the assessment of capital stock of railroad companies (except those included in schedule "B”) and find that the equalized value of tangible property is equal to or exceeds the equalized value of the capital stock, so that the assessment of tangible property of said railroad companies (except those included in schedule "B”) leaves nothing to be assessed as capital stock. Respectfully submitted, Wm. H. Malone, Chairman. Geo. S. Faxon, Charles J. Ewerts, Hez G. Henrt, Denniz F. Sullivan, Committee on the Assessment of Railroad Property. The Revenue Act of 1872 makes it the duty of the State Board of Equalization to assess the railroads of Illinois. Illinois is generally regarded as leading all other states in the Union, both as to total mileage of railroad track and total value of railroad property. In short, when Illinois railroads are compared with the railroads of other states, we stand at the head of the list. One would naturally expect the total assessed value of railroads in Illinois to be greater than that of other states, but such is not the case. Under the law in Illinois, all railroads operating in the State are required to file with the State Board of Equalization a list of all their property and from these lists the State Board of Equalization, through their rail- road committee, makes up the assessment roll. It is generally regarded that the committee on the assessment of railroad property on the State Board of Equalization is the most important committee of the board. The chairman of this committee occupies a unique position and it is generally conceded that this position is the most important position on the State Board of Equalization, for the functions of assessing the railroads of Illinois is the most important duty which the law throws upon them. It affords them an oppor- tunity of making an assessment which will conform with other states, but it is quite apparent that they are not doing it. Lutz, in his recent work on State Tax Commissions, in speaking of the assessment of Illinois railroads, says : “All of the evidence goes to show that railroads in Illinois gre being taxed less heavily than other property, and that there is considerable difference among the railroads them- selves.” Under the Act of 1872, the boards are required to assess the capital stock of railroads, as well as their physical property. In 1873, the first year under the present law, the capital stock of Illinois railroads was assessed at $64,611,071. From that amount the capital stock assessment has dwindled down to $3,313,415 in 1914, and this year we find the committee on the assess- ment of railroads presenting a report through its chair- man, Mr. Wm. H. Malone, which contains the following interesting information : “Your committee further reports that it has valued and equalized the capital stock, including the franchise of each and every railroad company created under the laws of this State in accordance with the rules and principles adopted by this board for the assessment of capital stock of railroad companies (except those in- cluded in schedule “B”) and finds that the equalized value of tangible property is equal to or exceeds the equalized value of the capital stock so that the assess- ment of tangible property of said railroad companies (except those included in Schedule “B”) leaves nothing to be assessed as capital stock.” This report of the railroad committee was adopted by the board without question and consequently no tax on capital stock of railroads (except as shown in Schedule “B”) is being collected in Illinois this year. The “Schedule B” referred to includes the following roads, four of which are electric lines : Belt Railway of Chicago Chicago & Western Indiana Central Terminal Union Stock Yards and T. Co. Waukegan & Mississippi Valley Aurora, Elgin & Chicago Metropolitan Elevated Northwestern Elevated Southside Elevated This committee has had insufficient time to make a thorough comparative investigation of the assessment of railroads throughout the different states in the Union, but correspondence with the State Tax Commission of Ohio develops the facts shown in the sketch at the top of this page. Inasmuch as Ohio railroads paid the assessment which was levied against them in Ohio with- out protest, it may safely be assumed that the managing officers of Illinois railroads paid the contribution levied against them by our State Board of Equalization with joy and gladness. It would be a matter of great surprise to this com- mittee if it should be found that Illinois railroads were clamoring for any change in the present administrative machinery of taxation in this State. The following table has been prepared from the 13th Annual Report of the Statistics of Railroads in the United States, prepared by the U. S. Bureau of Statis- tics for the year ending December 31, 1916, and shows the amounts paid by railroads in taxes in sorfi'e of the principal states : Total Amount Per Mile State Paid of Line New York.... . . .$11,348,654.00 $1,450.00 Ohio ... 10,363,174.00 1,179.00 Pennsylvania . . . . 9,679,657.00 917.00 Illinois . . . 8,814,504.00 760.00 Conclusion. The conclusion of this committee is that it is of funda- mental importance that a law should be enacted abolish- ing the State Board of Equalization, as it now exists, and substituting in its place a small tax commission of not exceeding three members who shall be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate a®d devote their entire time to matters of taxation and not be permitted to engage in any other business. This board should be given the powers which have been granted to similar boards in other states and found to be effective in bringing about uniformity of assess- ments and the discovery of concealed property. The most important weapon which has been devised in other states to bring about a uniformity of assessments in the various taxing divisions is the power of re-assessment. All writers on taxation agree that a good assessment is the foundation of any proper administration of the gen- eral property tax. Recognizing this to be true, laws have been passed in many states which give the chief taxing authority of the state the power to re-assess any district in the state where the assessment is, on its face, mani- festly unfair to the other tax districts of the state. We believe that such a provision should be written into the law of Illinois and that an independent assessor should be appointed to make the re-assessment rather than the same person whose assessment is impeached be directed to repeat the farcical performance. The objection which is usually made to such a law is that it violates the prin- ciple of “Home Rule.” This objection would no doubt be a weighty objection if the assessing of property affected only the local community, which is and should be allowed the right to administer its own affairs in its own way and by instruments of its own choosing, but the principle of “Home Rule” does not give to local commu- nities the right to govern themselves in such a way as to hamper the government of the county or state. In states where re-assessment statutes have been passed, it has been found that its chief value consists in its preventive or corrective effect on indifferent assessors and on backward or rebellious communities. The fact that the power exists, coupled with the knowledge that it can and will be exercised, exerts surprising influence and it is a noticeable fact that in states where this plan has been made the law, surprisingly few re-assessments have been found to be necessary. Experience has taught the futility of maintaining an expensive centralized depart- ment for the management of taxation affairs in the state and limiting its powers to writing advisory letters to heedless assessors and the preparation of learned reports which are seldom read. Efficiency in tax administration requires strong and in- telligent direction from above, coupled with power to compel attention from the subordinates below. Like the organization of an army, every commanding officer must be given the power to compel the obedience of all those under his command, down to the last private in the rear ranks. - The Constitutional Convention. The objection is frequently heard by those who are uninformed regarding the law, or by those who are anxious to allow matters to remain in their present con- dition, for reasons best known to themselves, that no change should be made in the law regarding the adminis- trative machinery of taxation in this state until after the Constitutional Convention has been held and the people have adopted a new constitution. Those who raise this objection probably do not realize that the Constitution of 1870, in its Revenue Article, contains the following- language : “Section 1. The General Assembly shall provide such revenue as may be needful by levying a tax by valuation, so that every person and corporation shall pay a tax in propor- tion to the value of his, her or its property — such value to he ascertained hi) some person or persons , to he elected or appointed in such manner as the General Assembly shall direct and not otherwise .” No constitution that could be adopted in this State could give the General Assembly any wider power than it now possesses in building up an efficient administrative machine for apportioning taxes in this State. The only constitutional change which has been discussed by those who have made this subject a matter of study is the change which will enable the General Assembly to classify property for the purpose of taxation, and such a change, if enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, would in no way affect the administrative machinery ot taxation in this State. Not a Party Issue. Both of the leading political parties of the State of Illinois have repeatedly, in writing their State platforms, cried out against the evils of our administrative system of taxation. The platform adopted by the Republican State Convention in Springfield on September 20, 1918, contains the following language : “Experience has demonstrated that certain of our laws should be changed. We therefore recommend the revision or amendment of the revenue laws in order that the burdens of taxation may be more equitably and equally distributed.” From a summary of the Democratic platform, distrib- uted broadcast throughout the State in the last presi- dential campaign, we find the following language : “We protest against the scandalous favoritism of taxes extended to certain powerful interests in the State by the State Board of Equalization. We demand the abolition of the State Board of Equaliza- tion; its functions to be performed by a commission of ex- perts appointed by the Governor, approved by the Senate, who shall sit the year around in open session and preserve daily minutes and records of its proceedings.” In view of these definite declarations on the part of the managing officers of the two great political parties of this State, it is difficult to see how any member of the Legis- lature elected to carry out the will of the people and upon a platform declaring for the changes therein indicated, can hesitate to lend his support thereto. Appended to this report is presented a list of state tax officials in the different states of the Union. We wish to call the attention of the Legislature to the fact that Illinois is the only State in the Union that now has at the head of its taxing system a large body of men elected by the people and devoting only a few weeks in each year to the work. In every other state the taxing authority rests in a small group, usually appointed by the State Executive, and devoting their entire time to their duties. Respectfully submitted, H. S. Hicks, Chairman. A. O. Lindstrum, B. W. Alpiner, W. B. Phillips, Rene Havill. “Where you want skill you must appoint; where you want representation, elect.” —Chief Justice Ryan List of State Tax Officials in the United States State Name Date established No. of members Term years How chosen Alabama .State Board of Equalization 1915 3 6 Governor Arizona .Tax Commission 1912 3 6 Non-partisan election Arkansas . Tax Commission 1909 3 6 Governor and State California ..State Board of Equalization 1910 5 4 4 elected, 1 ex-officio Colorado .State Tax Commission 1911 3 6 Governor and Treasurer State Board of Equalization 1876 1 Ex-officio, in cl. Gov. Connecticut .Tax Commissioner 1901 1 4 Governor State Board of Equalization 1851 3 Ex-officio Delaware .State Treasurer 1 2 Elected Florida .State Board of Assessors 3 Ex-officio Georgia .Tax Commissioner 1913 1 6 Governor Senate Idaho .State Board of Equalization 1889 5 Ex-officio Incl. Gov. Illinois .State Board of Equalization ... 1867 26 4 Elected by Districts Indiana .Board of State Tax Commissioners 1891 5 4 3 appointed by Gov. ex-officio Iowa ..Executive Council 1873 4 Ex-officio Inch Gov. Kansas .State Tax Commission 1907 3 4 Governor and Senate Kentucky .State Tax Commission 1917 3 4 2 appointed by Gov. Louisiana .Board of State Affairs 1916 3 6 Governor and senate. Maine . Board of State Tax Assessors 1891 3 6 Governor and Council Maryland .State Tax Commission 1914 3 6 Governor Massachusetts. . . State Tax Commissioner 1890 1 3 Governor and Council Michigan . Board of State Tax Commissioners 1899 3 6 Governor and Senate Minnesota .State Tax Commission 1907 3 6 Governor and Senate Mississippi Board of State Tax Commissioners 1916 3 4 Governor and Senate M issouri .State Tax Commission 1917 3 6 Governor and Senate Montana .State Board of Equalization 1889 5 Ex-officio inch Gov. Nebraska .State Board of Equalization and Assessment.. 1903 5 Ex-officio incl. Gov. Nevada .State Tax Commission 1913 7 4 5 appointed by Gov. New Hampshire ..State Tax Commission 1915 3 6 2 ex-officio incl. Gov. Supreme Court New Jersey .State Board of Taxes and Assessments 1911 5 3 Governor and Senate New Mexico . . . . . State Tax Commission 1915 5 2 Governor and Senate New York .State Tax Department 1915 3 3 Governor North Carolina. ..Corporation Commission 1901 3 6 Elected North Dakota... .Tax Commission 1911 3 6 Governor and Senate State Board of Equalization 1890 5 Ex-officio incl. Gov. Ohio .Tax Commission 1910 3 6 Governor and Senate Oklahoma ..State Board of Equalization 1907 7 Ex-officio incl. Gov. Oregon .Board of Tax Commissioners 1909 4 4 1 apptd. by Gov., 3 ex-officio Pennsylvania . . . . Board of Revenue Commissioners 3 incl. Governor Ex-officio Rhode Island. . . . Board of Tax Commissioners 1912 3 6 Governor and Senate South Carolina. ..State Tax Commission 1915 3 6 Governor and Senate South Dakota... .Tax Commission 1913 3 6 Governor and Senate Tennessee .State Board of Equalization 3 Ex-officio Board of State Tax Assessors 3 2 Governor Texas . .State Tax Board 1905 3 2 1 appointed by Gov. 2 ex-officio Utah . State Board of Equalization 1895 4 4 Governor and Senate Vermont .Commissioners of State Taxes 1882 1 2 Governor and Senate Virginia . State Corporation Commission 1902 3 6 Governor State Tax Board 1915 3 Ex-officio incl. Gov. Washington . . . . . .Tax Commissioner 1917 1 4 Governor and Senate State Board of Equalization 1905 3 Ex-officio West Virginia. . ..Tax Commissioner 1904 1 6 Governor and Senate State Board of Public Works 1863 6 Ex-officio incl. Gov. Wisconsin .State Tax Commission 1899 3 8 Governor and Senate Wyoming .State Tax Commissioner 1909 1 4 Governor and Senate State Board of Equalization 1889 3 Ex-officio DURAND AVERAGE TA/UST/ON ASASSESSED DORSES, 4 90.42 DOGS, f/7.S3 Ai/ro's, -* 3 3 9.00 DATCDES ADD CEO CDS*/. SO D/ADOS — ¥/ 2 700 SETV/DG A/A CP /RES — 7DTAE ASSESSED VAEUAT/OD, A6R/CUEr//E4L 7Z>OLSf/S,903.G/T)////2.2OA P ECATON I C A AVERAGE TALUS T/OD AS ASSESSED DORSES. -*82.46 DOGS. 2090 AUTOS. —D4A300 DATEDESARO C/JO CAS, — SEtD/UG D7ACU/UES, - D/A DOS, 992S 7DTAL ASSESSED TAEUAT/OD, A6R/CU/TURAE TOOLS j*2R.f£S’-' GRA/D, *9.302 00 S E W A R D A VERAGE TALU A T/OD AS ASSESSED DORSES, '/ 7/83 DOGS. /2-3S AUTO, 2S/.00 DA TORES ADD G LORDS. - SETV/DG DTACD/DES S.97 (•) D/ADOS 7279 7DTAL ASSESSED TAEUA T/OD AGR/CUL TURAl TOOLS. S/O.0 77 GRA/D OD DADO - H A R R I SON AVERAGE VALOAr/OD AS ASSESSED DORSES. *32 6S DOGS. 3 /SR 9 AUTO, 3/2 OO E 7 ADOS. PR. S3 DA TC//ES A DO CEO CVS. — SETV/DG D7ACR/DES, - 7DTAL ASSESSES/ VALOAT/OU AGR/CUETURAE 7D0LS. *7433 GRA/D. B U RR I TT AVERAGE TA EDA T/OD AS ASSESS E D DORSES. *73.03 DOGS. /E EZ AUTOS. 24600 DA TC RES ADO CEO CAS. — SETV/DG A7ACP/DES — D/ADOS, 7 6. SO 7VTAE ASJESSEO TAEUA T/OD AGR/CDE TURAL TOOLS* GARS. GRA/D */ 7/2- WINNEBAGO ATE RAGE TAE UA T/OD AS. ASSESS DORSES, ® *70 25 DOGS, //■ 3 S ®AUTOS, 79400 DATCDES ADE2GEOCRS — SETVLDG AAACD/DES R/ADOS ® 62-49 7DTAE ASSESSED TAEUA T/OD AGR/CUETURAE TDOES*/6.S2S GRA/D — MAP OF WINNEBAGO CO. Ieegjeerd SETV/DG D/ACD/DES. 643 ‘ 79 64 TOTAE ASSESSED TAEUA T/OD AGR/CUE TURAE TDOES, *24.040 . GRA/D. 4/327 ATERAGE TAEUA T/OD ASASSESSED DORSES. *37 /Z DOGS. /3 7A AUTOS, 23/ OO TVA TGAES ADD C/DGRS, — SETV/DC DTACD/DES, — D/ADOS, E 3 93 TOTAE ASSESSED TAEDAT/OU AGR/CUETURAE 7 DOES*RR 7 S. GRA/D, 4 330 OWEN AVERAGE TAEUA T/OD AS ASSESS E / DORSES, 4 32 96 DOGS. ® //• /S AUTOS, 336. OO VTATCDESAODGEOCDS. *7 0.6 2' SETV/DG DTAGD/DES. VO. 92 R/ADOS. /G3.SO TOTAE ASSESSED TAEDAT/OD AGR/CUETURAE TOOLS //E, 9U. GRA/D. * 4 230 A R L E M RAGE TAEUA T/OD AS ASSESSED * 7/46 DOGS. 2/ 30 AUTOS. 2 7 GOO ttatcdesaddceocds — SE TV/ D6 ATACD/DES. — R/ADOS. 96 63 TOTAL ASSESSED TAEUA T/OD AGR/GUETE7RAE TOOES. 47/043 GRA/D. * 6 932 High -*■ Zoxr ® ROCK FORD GUILFORD A VERAGE VAE UA T/OD ASASSESSED DORSES. *7/ 39 DOGS. 2242 AUTOS, 376 OO TVATCUES ADD CEOCDS *3. 70 SETV/DG A/ACD/DES. 6 4E R/ADOS, 79.64 TOTAE ASSESSED TAEDAT/OD AGR/Cl/ETURAE T00ES*S/,09 7 GRA/D, * /.7ST> AVERAGE TAEUA T/OD AS ASSESSED DORSES. *7646 DOGS. 7732 AUTOS. 2es OO (•) DATCDES A ED CLOG E S. *3/3 SETV/DG ATAGD/DES. E 69 P/ADOS, 77 S7 TOTAE ASSESSED TAEUAT/OD AGR/GUETURAE TpOES*//,392 GRA/D, 4“ 24 72 . CHERRY VALLEY At STAGE TAEUA T/OU AS ASSESS E D DORSES, *39 60*D0GS, *34 73 ® AUTO’S, /94 OO . DATCDES ADD CEOCRS. *7 2/ R/ADOS 93.00 TOTAE ASSESSED TAEUAT/OD ^^^0^^ga/ce/eturae tvoes'/o./st l 1 GRA/D, *3. 7/2 RANGE Or VALUATION. Watches Sewing" I and High Low Range . $111.17 $ 70.25 $ 40.92 24.75 11.15 13.60 . . 194.00 443.00 249.00 10.62 3.15 7.47 99.00 5.97 93.03 . . 127.00 62.49 64.51 © OWOMH be ojcqoM'C C 10 rH CO O CO cS CO rt CO tH H cc M rt " FA 00 coot' CD . eacoowto £ iH d C 4 H (Q 0 rH r -4 ift Cfl O *rt.O X SSoSS W) d * in ih © £ fc*C*C0H ^ 01 ^ to «> „ W 7 ? o w fl KK Eow @ RANGE OF VALUATION. High Autos $336.50 Watches 16.88 Pianos 143.00 Sheep 17.35 Hogs 17-45 CO. Low $171.25 1.67 70.27 3.21 7.19 Range $165.25 15.21 72.73 14.14 10.26 14/ / p C O N p /N 77 7-/00 77 PUT 03 ^24 P C/LTTLE 38. HOEpEp 72. 3HEEP 6. PO&J P/4 NOP /7 . & 73 si /vr e7 Y 0 77 fJUTOpZ55. /JUT07 * 204. U/7TTLE 35. Opt tee OP- t/oeSES 66.® HOB7E7 80. PPEEP 4. pPEEP 9 • POOS P/4ATO/S /0. POPP P/APOp /z. EV V U C O 77 JDs4 E 73 E /V7 O 77 7" PLLTOp$202. PTJTOp ^222. CUTTLE 35 CATTLE 30. /ioesf,s 79. HOE/SE/ 90. SPEEP J~. SPEEP 6. POOp /3- POPP /z. P/4P0p P/APOp /p. /£■ C/ 73 El E J— PUTOP $ 270. PUTOP * 265. U4TTLE 38 CATTLE 35. EOE/E/ 69. P023TP 85. STEEP p. PPEEP 8. poop /Zv POOP //. P/4A03 P/APop /6. /V £ W 7*0/3. T AUTO// *£93. C77TTFE 5S. HORJER 70. J/ZEEP T. HO&R /£. P/ 4 /Z 07 /J. PVp) f3.7Z.EV PL/ TOP / 90. ® CATTLE 33. ® POEpEp 69- pPEEP 4. ® POOp AO. P/ANOp L. / B E 73TY V / EEE ALUTOp ^353 CATTLE 42. POPSEP /03.+- PPEEP /2. poop /p. P/APOP 63. Y E 73 V O 77 A7UTOP $27/. CATTLE 42. POEpEp 8L. SPEEP 7. poo-p 9. f/A/LOP 8.8 B E A/7-OV APJTOP 280. CALTTLE 44. T/OPpEp 38. PPEEP HOCp 7. P/AN04 33. W El UK EOE/77 A/UTOP 2/4. OATTLE 48. POPpEP 69. SPEEP 6. POPp 23. 1 PM POp 30. 077/ BEE’S 4UT0p%59.\ emit 63. pom 95. SPEEP /3* pops /3. PI A 'NO/ 96 . PVfE 3 7~ .ZP £ £-/^ £■/ £. E23 PUTOS 243- CATTLE 99. POP3 23 88. SPEEP //. POPP 2/. P/4 P 03 300. t AUTOS 26 1 CUT TIN 37 ' AO/STS 36. SAEEP S. POOS J~. ® P/A NOS/ 70 . 8 O o pc IsEGEtfD Href/ Eow ® Ad^dP OF PARE CO. RANGE OF VALUATION. High Low Range Autos $459.00 $190.00 $269.00 Cattle 63.00 33.00 30.00 Horses 103.00 66.00 37.00 Sheep 13.00 4.00 9.00 Hogs 23.00 5.00 18.00 Pianos 300.00 8.00 292.00 tde pcals. Co. JvtEPPOPA AUTOS *225. CATTLE 372/ HORSES 8547 SHEEP 3-ao H06S 2249 P/AHOS T9- 06 /AZPPOTA H , AM J5Jt/r>I5:A7 AUTOS */ 7/ CATTLE 50.00 HORSES 75.00 SHEEP 5. 90 HOGS !5- OO P/4 NOS 67- 00 TBt-O VGA O VE AUTOS *98. CATTLE 52.64- HORSES 78-53 SHEEP 9-66 HOGS 14.54 P/AHOS 75- 00 OPP/7Z. AUTOS */&/. CATTLE 51-76 HORSES 75-54 SHZEP 7- 09 HOGS 14.62 P/AHOS 90-00 jd//v//w/c/c: AUTOS &59- ® CATTLE 44.28 HORSES 92.73 SHEEP 8. /5 HOCS '7-60 P7AH0S 46-00 TP A PI AUTOS *24/. CATTLE ® 26-95 HORSES 9/ 25 SHEEP 9-00 HOGS Z5-00 p/AHoS JO.OO Mol 41/TOS ^ 222 . CATTLE 54- bb (S AS //•> 65./ O 5-00 Zb-// PP.oo ^ & kl & § |««» /’J- *6 ■S3 5 00 | AUTOS & 5 2 9 . CATTLE 49-10 HORSES 75 - 2 } SHEEP 9-00 HOGS P/AHOS 20 25 9500 HO /IS £5 SHEEP | HOGS ^isT/C/j AUTOS* 295 . 00 "ATTLE 3466 *o&flzs 63.10 \Sf 1 EEP 9.OO 'OOS 16.11 HPHO0//S-OO y£x. ^ AUTOS 5 CJ CAT TLE 79.43 HORSES 35-19 Sheep 1031 HOGS 17-87 AUTOS ^285. CATTLE 34.23 HORSES 73-80 SHEEP 3.87 HOOS 1700 P/HNOS 90. OO p-strzp AUTOS */ / 9. CATTLE 58-46 HORSTS 75-52 SHTEP 5-97 Hogs // .56 Pip SOS 53-00 r-p. ee. jsoph AUTOS ’ CATTLE HORSES SHEEP HOGS P/AHOS *249- 50.65 39.88 10.00 20.00 /o/ .oo y^ALL^/CE- Auros^m CATTLE 57-00 HORSES 90.00 SHEEP 8.00 HOCS I6A-6 P/AHOS 75-00 a/JDaTsVIS AUTOS *211.00 CATTLE 4-6.91 HORSES 82/8 SHEEP / 0.94 HOGS 78-74 P/4H0S 9 Zoo SZ/P.EPA AUTOS * 205 - CATTLE 55-50 HORSES 80.00 SHEEP JO. OO HOGS 22.00 P/AHOJ 63 0 0 sVOP. TP V/J-/-E AUTOS * 580 . CATTLE -+59.50 HORSTS 90.04 SHEEP 6.00 HOGS 50.064 P/AHOS Pt/S£/OP ) AUTOS */80. L CATTLE 43.OO vHORSSS 93-00 \SHEEP J2.00\ WHOGS J5- OO \ 1P//4/V0J b&.OO W/ZGTLAH'J? J5AJY'TOA7 AUTOS*/ <15 CAT 7 LE 30 . 00 k HORSES/ 00 . SHEEP 7IZM p/m ,^ 2 slur os 22 /. CPTTLE 38.45 POPSES S73C Sheep hogs / 6.}z* P/hh/oS se. _ 3. OTT-lyVA -TP/HA/OS 1 P'S. AUTOS 22/. CATTLE 33-09 POSSES 8833 SHEEP 7.26 HOGS ir./O HOGS / 4.06l pm ^kcsmE 55-48 HORSES 63.26 y SHEEP 6.00 JHOGS 15-50 Af^5< / AUTOS *229. CATTLE 46 . H HORSTS 89.85 SHEEP 939 HOGS _ -+30.29 P/strtotf 42. 00 TT-V/S. 44 JQ, / JO CsrR AUTOS & CATTLE HORSES SHEEP HOGS P/4H0S 2 5 6. 46.43 91.47 8.27 / 4 . 6 a 99.00 TZSCPJ- 4 PT, AUTOS / 89 . min 29.90 H0RSTS75-05 Sheep /o.zz hogs 20.37 PZ/tHO/f 34. OO A4AJS- SHALE CO. AUTOS — * 4- OS. wkCArrLB 36 99 AUTOS CATTLE 55.OO * HORSES 89-00 SHEEP HOGS 7575 P/AHOR 26.00 ® P/AHoS $ 77. AUTOS 295. C//TTLE 36 . 65 " HO/ISES £/ -62 SHEEP ® 400 /OOS ® 8.35 4A AjCuJ- /6U^ AUTOS •& 7 . 7 A- . <-Z.sCHTTJ.E_ 37-29 HOPS ES 7S-/7 SHEEP 9-/3 POGS /e.47 P/apoS /O Z.OO & JR. A AS 2? TR.ATP/2A3 AUTOS ^ 2 03. CATTLE 30.00 HORSES 90.00 SHEEP 8- 00 HOGS . /6.0O P/4HOS 335.00 ott£/c ct.ee h AUTOS 292. CATTLE HORSES Sheep 49.60 84.09 77.36 i HOGS p/pnoA |5T«Fx>ro«. 21.07 68 00 AUTOS * CATTLE HORSES SHEEP HOGS P/AHOj ' 2 66 . 28.88 66.96 5.44 18.07 60 OC AUTOS $ 244 . CATTLE 40.00 HORSES 89-00 Sheep 6.00 hogs / a. 00 PfA/VCfS 1 <30.00 O .S 4 <2 XL AUTVS^U5. CATTLE 29.40 HORSTS 89-50 SHEEP 8.30 HOGS 9-20 p/pHoS 62-00 A 7 V7P3G £ TOP! CO. &*.& OF LF 1 . S 21 LLF OO . -Lejgjseed. S/GH. — * Loiv. ® RANGE OF VALUATION. High $403.00 Low $ 59.00 Range $344.00 59.30 26.93 32.37 100.00 57.36 42.64 15.36 4.00 11.36 21.71 89.00 30.29 8.55 Pianos 115.00 26.00 yi/oor>T07a.x> G-R. UN Dr CO. K E NEAL L CO. EL/ PACO CO. RANGE OF VALUATION. Sheep Hog's . . Autos Watches Fianos High $ 15.63 21.04 286.63 16.70 91.61 Low $ 3.86 6.68 57.71 2.12 15.00 Range $ 11.77 14.36 228.92 14.58 76.61 / N E / A N A z o H t* < P P 0 > h O w a z < A ® O O C O CO be o o © o o o o o m .2 ooSOcd tc ui ^ 6 in HOPSES * 62.07 HOPSES * 40 . n ® HOPSES $66.57 HOPSES $6807 CHTTLE 32./ 7 CHTTLE 27.2/® CHTTLE 3743 CHTTLE — * 5764 SHEEP 7.62 SHEEP 4.87 SHEEP 6.2/ SHEEP 70.25 E/OOS /3.53 HOES ® 8.04 HOOP 72.45 HOES 77.35 WHTCHES /VHTCpES /3.00 4/htohes / 5.00 P VHTOHES 7H& YV ELST^ !S_N AYOISA//2 _3/ P.TO CyHZ Z. /A/ V//- L T SH4WS PO//VT HOPSES $57.77 HOPSES $33.78 L70P5ES $ 54.45 HOPSES $73.47 CHTTLE 33.66 CHTTLE 34.72 CHTTE E 33.66 CHTTLE 34.62 SHEEP 7.7E shhhp 8.6/ SHEEP 8.16 SHEEP 7.6Q HOOS /2.60 HO OS //.47 //OHS 74.76 HOCS /O.20 /YHTHES /5.00 WHTCHES 3.50 YVHTOHES 5.75 WHTCHE5 4./7 C/iBS TE. r/£iX5 7*0 -LTC ^r&i/SHY Y\ 'TOI///P H&A/E Y PO//VT HOPSES $ 47.77 HOPSES $ 56. 75 HOPSES 77. 35 HOPSES * 70.4 / CATTLE ■43.63 CHTTLE 33.48 CHTTLE 4/. 85 CHTTLE 42 84 SHEEP 3.33 SHEEP 6.67 SHEEP — ► 5f7. Z SHEEP 72.3f HOES 7.72 HOOS 75/ HOCS 7407 HOCS 8/6 WHTCHLS 3.34 7ZHTOHE5 3.05 1HHTCHE5 3.03 PVHTCHES /6.4! SA// f*YVf^7/V \ H/LL YMfS. T> (S'/L J- JLjSP/L HOPSES $33.05 HOPSES $57-0/ HOPSES $53.43 HOPSES $52.53 OH TELE 44.76 CHTTLE 30./ 5 CHTTLE 4527 CHTTLE 48. 78 SHEEP 7.74 SHEEP 6.60 SHEEP 750 SHEEP 6.84 HOC'S /6.3Z HOOS /4. 3/ HOOS —+/7P3 HO Or 3 //.o/ WATCHES / 5.00 WHTOHES 3.00 WHTCHES /4.70 WH TOPES e-/S./<^-/-/7-OAS jStYA/PTG. P/J-L JP&7Z. C.H£S TE rz. AHT 02. /VB HOPSES $45.00 OHTTLE 36.27 HOPSES $57.42 HOPSES $60.00 HOPSES $5244- SHEER ® 4-86 /Jt 67/ OH TELE SHEEP 37-74 6 ?7 CHTTLE SHEEP 3547 E OO CATTLE / 3 O A/ CO. NiTIP OF M71COUPIN COUNTY RANGE OF VALUATION. High Low Range Horses $ 77.35 $ 40.11 $ 37.24 Sheep 59.71 4.86 54.85 Hogs 17.58 8.04 9.57 Watches 19.50 3.00 16.50 O OJ O MCA & JZ in in q q • rH d d d fc 2 K & Note: — This County is not under Township Organization. ;e /cw.a^v_z> co ■C *4 A' do. W /-/ / V~ £. CO RANGE OP VALUATION. High Low Range Horses Cattle Sheep Hogs 85.15 $ 82.00 $ 3.15 42.80 22.85 19.95 10.00 6.06 3.94 16.27 7.94 8.33 Note: — This County is not under Township Organization. The County Treasurer is directly responsible for the assessment of property in the different districts of the County. In Counties assessed by County Assessors a greater degree of uniformity in valuations prevail.