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VOLI’MK 4. NO. 47
"Real Value in Money and Low
Tax Rates" in North Carolina
Ten Thousand Expert Appraisers Con
ducting Campaign in Tar Heel State
to Find Out What Her Property Is
Worth.
SPEND A QUARTER MILLION
DOLLARS.
After Appraisement the State Will
Have Property Values That Will E-un
From Three to Five Times Present
Valuation.
By Jule B. Warren.
Raleigh. X. C.. October 30.—(Special
Correspondence.) —‘‘Real value in mon
ey —low tax rates” is the slogan of the
thousand expert appraisers who now
have under way the campaign in which
North Carolina is spending a quarter
of a million dollars to find out what
her pro pert v is worth, and the initial
reports reaching the office of the tax
commission from townships where the
revaluation work has already been com
pleted indicates that the real spirit of
the slogan is going to he attained. Ihe
work has been under way since dune 1
this year, and, while the tax commis
sion has made public no figures on the
work thus far accomplished, the records
of appraisers in all parts of North ‘ aio
lina indicate that when the revaluation
is completed and the legislature is call
ed together in extra session to adjust
the new tax rate in accordance with in
creased property values North Carolina
will have property values that will run
from three to five tiroes the present,
valuation of a billion dollars.
These amounts, however, are purely
estimates, for the tax commission, com
posed of the three members of the
state corporation commission, Chairman
W. T. Ix-e.A. .7. Maxwell and George
p. Pell, arc studiously avoiding giving
out prospective figures on the increase
inr fear that these estimates will be
taken as a basis for the amount of in
crease to he placed on property by the
assessors. That, above all things, the
commission is fighting for the actual
cash value of property on today’s mar
ket is the demand of the revaluation
act passed at the 1919 session of the
general assembly and nothing less than
actual value will satisfy the law or the
commission. So far, however, none of
the township reports have shown less
than double the present values and one
township in a rural section of a eeutral
inland county, which formerly had a
tax value of around $200,000, turned in
a valuation of nearly two million under
the new plan.
Demand for the Law.
The law for the revaluation of all
property in North Carolina was passed
as a result of an insistent demand on
the part of thinking people of all class
es in the state for a tax system con
structed along more scientific lines and
one that distributed the burden of tax
ation more equitably on all cla-.ses • of
property than did the old law. which is
a relic of reconstruction days, h’rue the
old law lias been tinkered with from
time to time, but there was never be
fore a studied effort on r.he part, of leg
is Inters to work out anew basis for
taxation.
The general . ssembly which conven
ed in January, 1919, had ! he solution ol
the tax problem before it as oae ofthe
four big matters demanding settlement.
Governor T. W. Bickett recommended
the revaluation of all property on a
basis of its real worth in money and the
special tax commission, appointed at. a
former term likewise recommended pra
etically the same system. This recom
mendation was incorporated in the bi
ennial message of Governor Bickett to
the legislature and as a result of this
and a. general agitation the first, bill
for revaluation was introduced in the
upper house by Senator Earl Humph
rey, of Goldsboro. This bill was placed
in charge of the finance committee of
both houses and worked out into the
bill which is now on the statute books
of the state. The measure received the
generous support of both the minority
and the majority political parties in
the genera! assembly, neither side feel
* matter for political discussion
or controversy.
Net a Revenue Measure.
The primaaty object of the- revalua
tion act Ls not to raise rarvenue, but to
make the raising of revenue mor? scien
titic and a general roform of the tax
ing system so that the burdens of taxa
tion would fall on rich and poor, white
and black alike. Asa guarantee that
the measure is not intended to put any
largo increase of funds in the state tre
asury the first section of tho.bill pro
vides that the new assessment shall not
THE BARROW TIMES
be used as the basis for taxation until
it is approved by the general assembly
and revised by districts. The assurance
is also given in the measure that the
total amount of revenue raised under
the new act shall not exceed 10 per
cent of the revenues raised the previ
ous year. When the work of revalua
tion is completed a special session of
the general assembly will be called to
work out the new tax rate. The guar
antee that the total revenues under the
new law will not exceed 10 per cent of
the revenues received the previous year
is an assurance that the tax rate will
lie lowered in just exactly the same
proportion as the values are increased.
This feature of the bill, however, does
not guarantee that, the taxes of any in
dividual will not exceed 10 per cent of
what they wore the previous year, for
the evil of large numbers of big pro
perty owners getting away with very
low valuations is one of the things the
new law proposes to remedy. The fel
low who has escaped his just propor
tion of the tax burden in years past is
going to bo hit, and hit hard, by the
new law. But the average man, who has
paid on valuations that were higher
than those of the large property owner,
will feel the good effects of the law and
will pay on .just exactly the same basis
as the bfyr follow—that is on the basis
of the real value of the property in
money at the market price of his pro
perty on May 1, 1919. These valuations
will hold good through 1923. but the
personal property will have to be listed
on the first of January every year.
The Organization,
The state tax commission has general
charge of the revaluation work. Under
the commission will be ten district sup
ervisors, who will have ten sections of
the state to supervise in getting the pro
Gounty assessors in every county of
North Carolina will look after thede
ta;ls and these assessors can employ one
or more clerical helpers as their de
mands inav require. All of these offi
cials are appointed by the tax commis
sion and political lines are obliterated
in making the appointments. In addi
tion to these officials each county has
a hoard of appraisers and review con
sisting of two citizens of flip county
representing both political parties and
the county supervisor or assessor, who
is chairman of tie bojual. People not
satisfied w*t i value (Hit ou their pro
perty hist? ferial „ this hoard for ad
jns’u.'n ■„ a r * i • rd also I.the right
to review all as urn and to ra'xo
or lower them. The final appeal of lip
satisfied prop". - v o'-ii-is um be mud*
to tin- state tax me. .- sum itself -.id
a hearing will he gran l -d bv some mem
ber of the e.ommisiou or someone repre
senting this body. In these examina
tions or in others intended to find the
true value of property the tax commis
sion or any of its officials way require
sworn answers to their questions.
Methods of Work.
When ail officials .required under the
law had been named the tax commis
sion arranged three meetings of all
county and district suprevisors, all
bounty commissioners and others inter
ested in the tax problem for explana
tions of the law and to answer ail ques
tions the workers wished to ask before
they took up the big task. One of these
meetings was held in Goldsboro for the
eastern supervisors, one iu Charlotte for
the central counties and the (inal one
in Ashville for the mountain counties.
Governor Hiekett and i. embers of the
tax commission attended all of these
meetings and spoke in behalf of the
new work. The governor made an ap
peal to make values such that the tax
books of the Old North State would
tell the truth.
The Questionnaire.
The tax commission furnishes every
eounty with sufficient blanks for list
ing all property and questionnaires
which are sent to every property owner
of record. These questionnaires ask the
most searching questions about the val
ue of the property. Three different sets
of these blanks furnish information
about land in the rural districts, city
property and personal property. Printed
in black type at. the head of every
blank Ls the following explanation:
‘‘The purpose of this blank Ls to dis
close the fair actual cash value of the
property listed. It. carries the guarantee
of the state tbut the pnrjiose is not to
increase the total amount of taxes paid,
but to find the value of each separate
piece of property equally, and by the
same standard rude, so that equal just
ice may be done to each taxpayer. A
WINDER. HARROW COUNTY. GA.. THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 20. 1910
separate blank must be filled out for
each separate piece of real property.
The total increase in taxes cannot ex
ceed 10 per cent for the state, for the
county, for any special tax district.
“The supervisor must require that
full answer be made to every question.
If you cannot answer any question with
absolute accuracy give the answer that
represents your best judgement as an
estimate. The board of appraisers will
not be bound by your answer as to the
actual value of the property. Your an
swer should represent your best judge
ment of the value. The assessment will
represent the best judgment of the
county board of appraisers, which may
l>e higher or lower than yours. You will
in any case be notified in writing by
mail of assessment made and will be
given opportunity to be heard, if, in
your judgment, it is assessed for more
than its actual cash value.”
While the questions on the different
blanks differ to some extent, an exam
ination of the questions asked owners
of country property will reveal the gen
eral methods used in getting at the ac
tual value of the property. After blanks
are provodedd which will definitely lo
cate the property the following ques
tions are required answered:
Distance from nearest eitv or town.
Does land adjoin improved or graded
road ?
If not, how far from such road?
Number of acres in cultivation and
value.
NTimber of acres in grass or pasture
and value.
Numherofacrcs in waste land and
v able.
Number of acres in timber and value.
Number of dwelling houses and val
ue.
Number of storehouses and value.
Number of barns and value.
Number of other buildings and value.
Does this land contain merchantable
timber in excess of that needed for ac
tual farm use? Estimates in thousand
feet.
Has timber right been sold and con
veyed? To whom and vvliat was consid
eration?
, *•*-. <- ‘
Give amount of insurance on build
ings. ,
If whole property was rented in 191fi,
what was the value in money of rent
received? If cultivated by owner or
partly cultivated and partly rented,
what was the fair rental value of the
whole?
When did von acquire this land? If
by purchase, what was the considera-
tion ?
Were there any circumstances con
nected with the sale which caused it
to sell for more or less than its real va
lue at this time?
Give cost of improvements made since
purchase.
Have you sold any part of it since
purchase? If so. at what price?
Was part sold worth more or less than
the remainder?
Have you had a genuine offer for this
property, or any part of it in the last
two years? It so, what was the highest
offer*
The reverse side of the questionnaire
carries the oath which every property
owner must subscribe to. stating that
in his best judgment the answers given
are correct and represent the actual
•ash value of the property described.
Filling Out Questionnaires.
These blanks are sent to every pro -
perty owner of record in a township,
since the revaluation plan is being
worked out on the township unit. The
property owner is required to answer
all of the questions and return the ques
tionnaire, properly filled out. to the
county board of appraisers. Following
the distribution of the questionnaires
the county appraiser or some of his
helpers makes a round of the township
visits central places in the township for
the purpose of aiding any property ow
ner who needs help in arriving at a
true value of the property. The apprai
sers have found that on the whole the
property owners await the arrival of
some revaluation officer before filling
out the I innks. These questionnaires,
when filled out, become tux obstructs
and are in such shape that they can be
liound into n imm anent record, as each
blank is eiU in form a sheet in a loose
leaf tiling system. When the blanks have
been passed oe by the county board of
appraisers and the values finally settled
the law requires that copies of the ab
stracts by townships Ik* sent to the state
tax com mission.
The commission, under the new law,
has (be authorities of the state board
of equalisation and can make investi
gations of the returns and valuations
in any county in the state where there
is reason for belief that errors have
been allowed to get in or where the val
uatioos are not considered baaed on the
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF BARROW COUNTY
market value of tho property listed. If
such investigations are necessary the
county making the error is required to
bear all expenses of such an investiga
tion.
Call in Experts.
While the big burden of the revalua
tion work will fall on the county and
district supervisors, the new North
Carolina law provides expert help in de
ciding on the values of industrial pro
perty of every description. This is a
feature in revaluation work which is
not found in any of the other dozen
states which have passed similar laws
and it is believed this feature makes
I the North Carolina law just that much
better and more effective than any oth
er revaluation law in the country. It
is provided because of the evident dif
ficulty any local man or set of men
would have in arriving at the true va
lue of a manufacturing plant whose
property was worth millions of dollars.
The corporation commission has al
ready made a contract with the Apprai
sal Company of the South, of Savannah,
Ga., to handle this feature of the work.
This company will keep one of its men
at the call of the commission during
the whole year and will send its ex
ports to the industrial plants in every
section of the state for the purpose of
getting the real value of all mills, fac
tories and other industrial enterprises.
In addition to these experts the com
mission lias the authority to call in re
presentatives of the various industries
for the purpose of conferring with them
concerning valuation. Several confer
ences have already been held with the
cotton mill men and others are arrang
ed with the tobacco manufacturers,
whose interests run into many millions
in the state. These concerns have shown
the utmost confidence in the work and
have placed every facility of their ac
counting force fit the hands of the eo
(Gontiiuicd to last page of this section)
NCho Knows How
-to fit you? 1
PAUL HADAWAY jl
Try Paul on your next pair and
see if he can give you comfort. He ®
don’t guess at your size. He has * nrr
AAA to EEE
to be sure that you get the correct width and
size.
Save Your Feet—You'll Need Them
When You Get Old
Come and get fitted the right way. Father,
mother, sister, brother. He will save you from
SI.OO to $4.00 On Every Pair
you buy. He has told you over and over that you
pay less here than elsewhere for your shoes.
COME LET HIM PROVE IT TO YOU
YOY JUDGE FOR YOURSELF
MARTIN BROS.
THE NEW SHOE STORE
Across Clayton Street from the Holman Bldg.
EXAMINED FITTED
We relieve ocular headache and eye strain hy properly
fitted glasses.
Childen’s eyes giv en special attention.
We charge reasonable fee for a thorough examination and
advise you truthfully as to whether or not you need glasses. A
satisfied patient is our best advertisement.
We have our own grinding plant and can duplicate any
broken lens on short notice. Send them to me by mail.
J. L. WHITLEY
Optometrist and Manufacturing Optician
WINDER, GEORGIA
FLOUR
We have a quantity of Flour that we bought at low
prices, and it is our desire to give our customers the benefit
of our buying. Every sack of thhis Flour is guaranteed.
If you have not purchased, it will pay to get our primes be
fore buying. Also a varirety of Feed Stuff that we expect
to sell at a small profit.
Watson Glover & Cos.
WINDER, GEORGIA.
*1.50 IN ADVANCE