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THE C ARNES VILLE ADVANCE, CARNESVILLE, GEORGIA. Official Organ Of Franklin County r-r Miss Ret ha Purcell Ed. tor E. ]?. Purcell Business Manager IRate Of Subscription ONE YEAR I « I • I I I • I P f C I I I CBS e=> SIX MONTHS « • I I 4 • f I I I I I f I « LC3 THREE MONTHS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • CM CTl Enuned at the Post Office at Carnesvnlc Georgia as second Class Mutter fi \ I a \ \ c Attorney (Jeneral Makes Report on Inherit¬ ance Tax We publish here below the re¬ port made to the Governor bv Hon’ Clifford Walker concerning the inheritance tax; In re: Iheritanoe Taxes: The Act of August, 8tb, 1916,contains the following provision; “It shall be the duty of the At torney General to enforce the payment and collection of all in hertance tax due are that may be¬ come due unto the State.’’ 4 Let Our i Vdtv,- 0 * We pay 6 per cent on time deposits, and one dollar will start an account with us. Our principles are “’Safety First” and we offer every accommodation consistant with good banking, So deposit your money with this* bank. We have the largest surplus of any bank in North r ~- tfftpital stock. You bank with us and we will bank with you. The Canon I IB • »*• Canon orgia. I have the honor to sub mit my report of my affect, to comply with the of this (aw. Careful preliminary investigation into the operation of the inherit¬ ance tax law co veving a period of several months, convinced me that the protection of the interests of the Saate, absolutely required a detail examination into eveiy estate administered within the four years since the passage of the Act, I, there, fore, associat ed as good lawyers as I could se¬ cure in each county for that purpose. Their leports of file in this office and briefly abstracted in this report conclusively demon¬ strate the wisdon of ibis action. J Nineteen of the country counties (those which did not in elude large city) report default¬ ing estates valued at $2,555.00- 2 More than this number of such counties have vet reported, Many of the smaller counties have few Wealthy onizeu? so it is im posdb’e to estimate, but it is reas to expect a large sum — the equal of ttio amount reported — from the remain¬ ing country couties. 3 Through local counsel I am the states reported ! I to me as probably rnbjeot to tbo fixation and valued at $3.5000, 000.00. In<me of these question of legal residence alone is involved In another question of gifts made immediatetv before death is at is sue. In the third the question of the bar of the ordinary’s oale is raised. 4 It is in the city counties where most wealth citizen? reside and ofeourse, from these counties the bulk of the inheritance taxes should be collected'. In Fulton county, the most popu’ous and wealthy. 1 find that all estates are being assested arbitrarily on a basis of forty five per cent of the value. This percentage is a»'- rived at by fiouring ordinary state property taxys and is openlv and frankly defended as just. The state has no abler nor more conscientious officials than FuLons but that thev are mistaken in judgement is shown by the word¬ ing of the law which provides that all the estates shall be assess ed at their actual or market value It is manifestly anfair that estates in Oglethorpe. Muscogee and other counties should be assessed at full market price value while the estates in some of the citv counties are assessed at less than half value. This condition should bo correct! d as many thou c ands of dollars annual income to the state are involved. 5 While in Fulton the taxes are being collected ujkui a system which in rav judgement, does no measure up lo the. in Bibb coun¬ ty, I am advised that there is no at all. As to the in teg try and good faith of the Bibb officials the same could be of them as was said ot the Fulton Y et frankness forces me to say that there soems to be no business like checking even of estates actual’y admimst- ed. Estates tty dozers have es- caped taxation. .Some of the lead lawyers have boon administrators or executors of some of these de- faulting estates. It is amusiug to note the number oi the estates liable to the 5 per cent tax that have not been returnor assess Some of tceso estates have been transferred to persons in no way related to the deceased. The state hat been depr.ved of tax upon $5;0d0,d0 each upon practically even- estate assessed through a mistaken' conception of the law itself, an exemption call¬ ed “legal exemption” being allow ed over and above the exempt¬ ions actually provided bv law. 0 It probably not be profitable to extend this report father. My files and corespondaiic-e are sub • jeetto inspection if father detail¬ ed inisrmation is desired. Most unfortunate lack of system and unformatv characterizes ibe ad ministration ot this tax law in practiallv all of the counties, i haven’t the slightest doubt that vigorous and efficient representa¬ tion of the State’s interest during the past four years would have netted the state an income from taxable values from $5,000,000,00 to $7,500,000,00. Likewise l be¬ lieve that such represen'.ation together with cxplanab on of the te»nis of the law an even public itv as to the yery existunce of the l.uv almost, if not quite double the State’s income from .Ins tax in the tuture. 7 The able and honored autli or of Goorgi i’s Inheritance Tax Law iomimls me that no g-eit constructive legislation was evt-r perfected la one bdl in one year’s time. Indeed as was probably, true in this ca*e, it is quite quest - onableif the state is not barred from a remedy or right of ap- peal atter the filing of the cettifi ca te of the Ordinary however incomplete may be the inventory furnished him or however mislead ing bis information as to values. This being true pending amend¬ ments by the Legislature, it has proved profitable to have the States represented in the checking of inventones* 1 and the fixed of values. For such services actu illy rendered the State, has been al lowed. I have conferred w.th the author of the bill who fortunate ly is a prominent member of the present Legislature, and amend¬ ments will be proposed stieagth- ening the bill, clearing up such of its proyisions as may be uncer tain and providing icr better system and greater umformity in in the payment’ of collection of taxes• Retpectfully submitted, CLIFFORD WALKER. Attorney-General. Sale Georgia Franklin ( ountv. Bv virtue of an order from the of Ordinary of Franklin will be sold at public out. on the first Tuesday in Aug ust 1917, at the Court house said county, between the hours of sale, the following real estate. One house and lot in the town of Lavobia. Georgia,, one h»lf acr^more or less, bounded on east hv V’iciterv Street, on North- by Alley, on West bv Southern Railway 'm South by T, F A'tison. Ter i in of sale casti. T, VV. Freeman. Adm’rof Mrs.Lida Freeman estate Notce A’,1 )!'ni hr/ i r himh against estate of Kate Merritt, do ceased, of Franklin County coun¬ ty Georgia, are hereby not! fled * to render m their demands tothe undersigned according to law. Tlrs May 22rdl9J7. C. A. Ginn. Administrator of Kate Men it t .. deceased. Notcie SO I Acres Land near Ashland Ga., on and near National High • way, will cut into small teacis to salt the purchaser. Also G:n Plant near Hshiaud. Terms giv- er» W. H, Smith.