Show THE CONTROL OF PUBLIC expenditures TURES the subject ot of taxes la Is of serious to our readers at this time ot of the year the state tx tax commission has prepared a series ot of five articles which we co consider c ot f I 1 interest 11 and ot of educational value one ona WIN will appear each beeb in the garfield county news general property taxes in utah become delinquent in deamber mos taxpayers profess to bo be painfully aware oi of the tact fact not so many taxpayers appear to realize that it if anything Is to be done dodo in the way ot of effective reduction of the tax bill falling due the following november december la is the month it should bo be done yet it la Is in december that the program for public expenditures by counties clues cities and towns tor for the follow ing year la Is made up school districts make up their annual programs or budgets for the fiscal year beginning july 1 each june if the expenditures are on the program so mads made i up the money will in all proba allty lity bo be spent and the chief if 11 not the only way in which chic counties cities towns and school districts may raise funds to pay tor for edich expenditures Is through the general property tax the program flam in december and juno june therefore fix the levies which are collected the following november it la is useless to bo hold september mass meetings and declaim against rL tax levies when the money has already been spent it Is 11 a waste 0 of time to attempt tax reduction through reduction in the assessed aase sed valuation or of property it the expenditure has been madda made a reduced valuation means simply anfin an increased creased levy j but it I 1 I 1 very much worth while to study budgets before they are approved and it iad time well spent for or property owners to meet their representatives in public offices and determine what should be spent the coming year la in may the taxpayer receives a notice from the county treasurer trea gurer of the valuation atlon which has been placed on oil hla h ai property for taxation tai atlon purposes he may protest to the tae county board of 4 f equalization it if the assessor Is capable and conscientious the taxpayer will usually learn he la is assessed on the same came basis as his neighbor and his protest was without valid ground ih ift september co comes ales the tax bill from the county treasurer the taxpayer may be sorely tried to find the money to meet the obligation but i if he objects it will be only to learn that it la Is too late to do anything about it but perhaps before this late la in july he may havo have urged the local officials to reduce their levies only to find that more than halt half tho the current taxes have already been spent and the remainder in all probability has been already obligated Is the situation hon alesa it ft fa entirely beyond the power of the taxpayer to regulate on the contrary tt it is within his control furthermore ample opportunity la Is given every taxpayer to assist in fixing the amount of taxes to be paid in hla his community of course tilo the law do does no not t permit the individual taxpayer to fix the amount ot of hla his own taxes to the extent ot of compelling others to pay the taxes he should pay nor does it allow an individual to escape the payment ot of a tax duly levied the benefits of which he has already enjoyed just as the law does not permit an individual to buy goods on credit and then to escape payment after the goods are consumed but the law does give the individual opportunity to join with others in determining in advance the amount of taxes to be paid in ids his community this is one of the fundamentals that must be ba understood it if the taxpayer is to exercise effective voice in control of his bis tax levy the next article in ahlo series will deal with a brief of the property taxes in your county tor for the current year |