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Show PROPERTY TAXATION IS THEME FOR DISCUSSION1 Notable Convention Is Considering Vital Question Ques-tion in This City; Many State and County Officers Here. TIIE assessment of all taxable property in tho state at its actual cash value and the fixing of a maximum tax levy of 15 mills were urged yesterday yes-terday by several, speakers at the first conference of taxing officials ever held in Utah. The conference is being held at the Salt Lake Commercial club and is being attended by nearly 200 county and state officers and others interested in the levying and collection of taxes. Tho assessment of property at itw full cash value, it was urged, would show that the state had weuhh in the neighborhood of $75U,U0O,O00 instead of $1221,000,000, the present assessed valuation of taxable property. The present average tax levy for" all purposes pur-poses is about 45 mills. With the increased in-creased assessed valuation, it was declared, de-clared, this levy could be reduced to a maximum of 15 mills and still provide revenue in excess of the present revenue reve-nue at the large levy. Papers Are Submitted. Several interesting papers wore read yesterday and each was followed by an interesting discussion by those at the mooting. Included among those at the conference were a number of members of tho next legislature, wnich will be called upon to revise the revenue laws of the state. The conference will continue con-tinue today and several papers dealing with taxation problems will be read and discussed. Socrctary of State David Mattson, acting governor, welcomed tho delegates dele-gates to the conference and suggested that this might' easily prove to be the most important gathering of officers since tho constitutional convention. Mr. Mattson snoko of the errowincr np.p.ds of the state and the handicap the state officials had to face by reason of insufficient in-sufficient revenues to meet the proper cxrieDses of state government. The taxation system of t lie state. Air. Mattson said, was unsteady, and the first and most important remedy was to base the levy on a sound banis of valuations. He said this valuation should be the full cash value of the property. To Decrease Burdens. Responding tu Mr. Mattson's address of welcome. John Watson -of the state board of equalization said that it was not the purpose of t lie loard or the state officers offi-cers to impose any new burdens on the people, but to equalize, the present burden bur-den of taxation. Actual equalization, he said, would Increase the revenue from taxation and at the .same time decrease the burdens of a majority of the people. ' President William Bailey of the state ! board of equalization presided at the forenoon fore-noon ficssion of the conference, and State Auditor .Lincoln O. Kelly at the afternoon session. Representative David H. Morris of St. George has been chosen to preside today at the conference. The tax laws of Utah were discussed yesterday at the conference by Attorney General A. R. Barnes, who said that the state was not. bo much In need of added revenue legislation as It was of the better bet-ter enforcement of the present tax laws. Ife deplored the tendency of assessors to minimize the values of property, both real and personal, and pleaded for the strict enforcement of the letter and the spirit of the revenue laws. Central Board Favored. Mr. Barnes recommended a central board of education to administer the school taxes of all school districts, save those of the cities of the first and second class. He recommended tho elimination of special htKh school taxes and favored the county unit for school districts. Mr. Barnes suggested that the taxes on coal lands were too low and the Inheritance tax too high. Harden Bennion, secretary of the state board of equalization, declared in an address ad-dress on "Levy and Collection of Taxes" that Die chief -troubles with the Utah tax system was that though tho law required re-quired t!ie assessment of property at its full value, no attempt was made to live up to the requirement; that tbe assessment assess-ment of Intangible assets at full value u n de r our s yst em proved to 'be i m possible pos-sible and that the equalization system was not Just to all.' He said that there were a number of good features about the system, despite its faults, and there was a possibility of changing the system sys-tem tn a way so as to remedy its most serious defects. , . State Treasurer Talks. State Treasurer Jesse D. Jewkes presented pre-sented a paper on the "Disbursements of the Tax Revenue." Mr. Jewkes went Into the detail of the technical bookkeeping book-keeping connected with the distribution of funds among the counties and made a number of suggestions for the purpose of having a uniform system of accounting account-ing in the various treasurers' and auditors' audi-tors' offices throughout the state. In a paper on the "Taxation of Intangible Intan-gible Property," Francis W. Klrkham, former secretary of the state tax commission, com-mission, sfiid that the attempt of this state to collect taxes on intangible assets, such as money in banks, stocks, bonds, mortgages and equities, had proved farcical. farci-cal. The returns on this class of property prop-erty were so small as to be negligible. The same trouble, he said, had been experienced ex-perienced tn other states. He suggested a reduction in the rate on this class of property, or the total elimination of the tax on it and the substitution of an income in-come tax. The income tax, he said, was just and equitable, yet he was of the opinion that the administrative machinery machin-ery of the state was not centralized and systematized to an extent to permit it at , present to cope with the difficulties of I assessing and collecting an Income tax. William Bailey Heard. The assessment, of property at full value and the limitation of revenues were discussed in detail by William Bailey. Mr. Bailey eald that the assessment of property at full values should 'he made only after a limit of the levy for all purposes pur-poses had been fixed at 15 mills, or about one-third of tho present average tax levy of the state. This, ho nald, would serve as a stimulant to assessors to fix the valuation at about the actual value of i the property. Without such limitation there was danger of extravagant admin- ! istratlon of the public funds and the dan- j Ker of assessors letting the valuation drop I below 100 per cent. j The work of the tax commission, which . compiled the revenue laws of the state I and suggested a revision in the tax laws ot" the stale, was reviewed by C. S. Pat- ; terson. Hu read a number of the reconi- j mcndatlons of the com mission and sug- 1 gosted some changes in the laws that. : seemed wise. Ho urged the appointment i of the assessors of the state by the state ! board of equalization, lnslea1 of their j election by the peopie. A general discus-1 si on followed, in which a score of the j delegates participated. j Prominent Men Present. Among the county offiJ;jp and others who are attending the convention arp: Henry H If, county clerU. Weber 1 county: John V. Bluth, deputy county rlnrlt," Weber count's : Lawrfnrvj A. Van iyke, deputy county auditor, Weber CMintv; .Tcihn f 1'. Vwood, county commls-lnrier. commls-lnrier. S;m -J ua ll comity; L. L. Nelson, 1 treasurer-elc-t. I'tah county; A. A. HI nek lev, represent.'' tl e-eh-. l. Millard roimt v; George H. Mem. seno i or-eln.-t, Salt Lalco county; 1 a;i B. Shields, ren-rccntatlvc-clcct, Si-It. Lake county; W. B. Knnifl, representative-elect. Salt Lake county; A. II. Crabbe, county commissioner, commis-sioner, Salt Lake county; P. J. Fennoll. , county commissioner, Juab county; Charles T. Burton, treasurer-elect, Davis county; Frank L. l.nyton, assessor, Davis i countv; N. C Peterson, treasurer-elect, : Wayne county; H. If,. Maxfield, county commissioner, Millard county; W. Mont Ferry, state senator. Salt Lake county ; W '. Draper, assessor, Carbon county. K. J. Bell, commissioner, Cache county; Glen Miller, representing Salt Lake Commercial Com-mercial club; S. K. H timer, tax agent of Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Tele-graph company, Denver, Colo.; George T. Judd, deputy state auditor; A. L. Toono, deputy commissioner of immigration, labor la-bor and statistics; W. S. Hansen, senator, Boxelder county; Hugh W. Harvey, commissioner, com-missioner, Wasatch county: K. J. Curn-mlngs, Curn-mlngs, commissioner, Wasatch county; James TC. L. Carey. - commissioner-elect, Duchesne county; George Lindsay, com-missioner-eict, Duchesne county; Kd- j ward Mackie, Herk-elect. Duchesne j county; C. W. Smith, assessor-elect, IXi- chesne county: Lulu Hood, treasurer-elect Duchesne county. Jacob Probst. asres?or, Wasatch 1 county; Lavina Murdock. treasurer, Wa-salcb Wa-salcb county; A. K. Holmgren, commissioner-elect. Box elder county; J. W. Thorn ley,- senator. Davis county; Elizabeth Eliza-beth A. Hay ward, representative -elect. Salt Lake county; Lillie C. Wolstcnholme, representative-elect. Salt T.ake county ; John M. Ritchie, commissioner, Wasatch county; J. M. Johnson, deputy treasurer. Sanpete county: O. B. Andersen, suveyor, Morgan county; fl. P. Brady, commissioner, commis-sioner, Sanpete county; H. C, Ilansen-Bogh. Ilansen-Bogh. assessor, Sa npete county; .lames Anderson. Jr., commissioner, Sanpete county; Peter Mortenson, commissioner. Sanpete county; Martin Isaacson,- ro;uf commissioner. Sanpete county; A. R. Pa x man, treasurer. Juab county; J. A. Johnson, treasurer, Sanpete county: T. J. Morley, Jr.. clerk, Sanpete county; George Brough, assessor, Morgan county; William J. Seely, deputy state auditor; J. ,L Johnson, county attorney. Summit county; T. L. Allen, representative-elect. Summit Sum-mit county; J. M. Hixson, treasurer, Summit Sum-mit county; R. J. Huntington, treasurer. Tooele county; W. L. Siddoway, commissioner, commis-sioner, Uinta county; David Mattson, secretary of state; Luther K. Stewart, representative-elect, Utah county; A. T. Rappleye. assessor-elect, Utah county; Franc's W. Kirkham, ex-secretary, state tax commission; Samuel Clark. ' county commissioner, Summit county; Earl Jack-man, Jack-man, assessor. Juab county; W. O. Stephens, assessor. Summit county; Moses v.. ioj"i. liciiv, CUUIIILII CUUUl , .J 0 11 1 1 T. Woodbury, clerk, Washington county ; J. W. Wing, Jr., representative -elect, Utah county; C. L. Warnick, representative-elect, Utah county; R. J. Williams, assessor. Iron county; J. R, Sharp, commissioner. com-missioner. Carbon county: Arthur Pax-man, Pax-man, county attorney. Washington county; A. R. Barnes, attorney general; William A. Leatliam, assessor. Salt Lake county: John Bybee, commissioner, Weber county; A. !H. Parsons, asse.ssor-elect. Salt Lake county; Fred Jorgenson. representing Ephraim Commercial club; L. R. Anderson, Ander-son, representative, Sanpete countv; Georee A. Chris tensen, assessor, Sevier county; W. T. Hamilton, commissioner. Carbon county; Albert Brvner, commissioner-elect, Carbon county; K. S. Horsier, Hors-ier, auditor. Carbon county; J. B. Kvans, tax agent. Oregon Short Line railroad: R. N. Bush, commissioner, Tooele countv; T. A. .Smoot, assessor. Utan county; Arthur Ar-thur Hess, commissioner-elect, Davis county; Jesse D. Jewkes. state treasurer; William Ralley, president state board of equalization; Hardin Bennion, secrctarv of the state board of equalization; John Watson. Tn ember of the state board of equalization; Amos S. Gabbott, member of slate board of equalization. I Moroni Skeen, commissioner, Weber I county; J. E. Storey, treasurer, Weber I county; W. N. Beatty, assistant tax ; agnt. Denver & Rio Grande railroad: ! Edwin E. Sprague, clerk-elect, Piute I county; W. Warner Mitchell, clerk. Iron county; C. Roscoe Vigus, auditor. Salt 1 Lake county; W. H. Tobias, former rep-; rep-; resentative, Salt Lake county; H. T. Reynolds, senator-elect. Utah county; Thomas P. Page, representative-elect. Salt Lake county; Lawrence T. Enoerson, deputy assessor. Utah county; Thomas w! Butters, commissioner, Morgan county; Peter Kielson, commissioner, Emerv county. C. H. Day, treasurer- el "ct. Milliard county; L. L. Toone, commissioner, Morgan Mor-gan county; John L. White, representing Farmington Commercial club; F. A. Waters, Wa-ters, tax agent of Salt Lake Route; C. M. Brown, tax agent Utah Copper company; com-pany; W. E. Peacock, Jr.. clerk -elect, Emery county; . Carl Bfig, treasurer, Emery county; R G. Marshall, clerk, Rich county; W. T. Rex, commissioner. Rich county; Roscoe W. Kardley, secretary Manufacturers' Association of Utah ; Julius Bailey, assessor and treasurer, San Juan county; C. F. Olescn, deputy assessor. Cache county; J. B. Woodward, assessor, Cache county. Royal T. Huisb, treasurer. Utah county; P. P. Mathews, assessor, Tooele county; Charles J. Wahlquisf , county attorney, Wasatch county; C. S. Patterson, former member state tax commission ; A. B. Chambers, clerk, Cache county; George B. Skinner, Beaver county; H. A. White. Jr., assessor, Beaver county; Mark Tuttle, deputy state auditor: Lincoln G. Kelly, state auditor; John Ford, commissioner, commis-sioner, Davis county; David H. Morris, state representative, Washington county; David Hyden, assessor, Rich countv; Ixj-renzo Ixj-renzo Pett, assessor. Boxeldcr county; John T. Conley, commissioner. Boxekler county; Thomas H. Blackburn, commissioner, commis-sioner, Boxelder county; H. AV. Lunt, commissioner-elect. Iron county; Ernest Fife, county assessor, Garfield county. |