Show TAXPAYERS HEAR DR al H HARRIS wednesday evening dr at 11 harris statistician of 0 the utah taxpayers association addressed a local audience on tax problems the meeting had been arranged by chairman T clark callister of 0 the county unit of the association and was attended by representatives from all the towns in east millaid county facts and figures were made easily understood and assimilated by the use ot of charts throughout dr harris lecture and a true picture of 0 our I 1 tax ax problems was waa impressed Imp essed upon the aud audience lenco as it could have been in no other way our ever increasing tax burden from 1916 to the present time was clearly shown not only as a whole but also subdivided into the levies placed by the various taxing units while certain taxing units such as counties have remained at practically the samo same level throughout the period other branches of 0 our government have increased the demands upon the taxpayers by leaps and bounds the most encouraging part of the entire picture Is a very definite recent trend toward reduction dr harris very ably pointed out that our tax problem is not onel one easy ot of solution nor will it respond to hastily and irrationally arrived con can ile he explained that all ol at our tax money is spent upon budget appropriations that the duty of the tax dollar is divided into specific functions some of which might be eliminated or reduced and others of which are fixed any blanket reductions duct ions of taxes is therefore relegated to the absurd in other words tax costs are the result of the demands the people themselves make upon government and it if any great reductions are expected the people will have to unite in deciding what they will do without As a concrete example of the tolly folly of the blanket reduction idea lie he pointed to the levy made by millard county in which the levy tor for debt service is tour four and one halt half times as high as that ot of tho the county general fund from these facts it Is apparent that even a blanket reduction 0 of 25 per cent would result in the complete elimination of 0 the county general und fund as the debt service must be paid likewise in fillmore city with a total levy ot of 13 mills 8 mills is tor for debt service and must be paid dr harris admitted that in these outlying counties the tax dollar Is spent much more carefully than it Is in larger centers that the officers generally are honest and conscientious ile he said ho he was sure that it any considerable group of taxpayers would unite in determining upon any service that they were willing to got along without that the officers ot at any taxing units would gladly elemi allm binate the service it Pos possible sibl tor for tho the benefit of 0 the taxpayer in III view of 0 the constantly increasing services demanded ot at and given by government it Is very doubtful it if any considerable reduction in governmental ern mental cost coat can ever be effected on oil the other hand when we consider some of the services we receive from government it Is doubtful it if th the average taxpayer spends any money to greater advantage the great opportunity tor for tax relief inthis locality ls in a distribution of the burden too few people are carrying the entire load even iii il good times budgets in mellard county were based upon a 75 percent collection collection collect iop and now only odly about 60 per cent of the tha money levied is collected to aggravate this condition while the assessed valuation in the county has been reduced nearly halt half much of the property which by the way Is a considerable part ot of that upon which taxes are never delinquent has never enjoyed any ot of this reduction the great injustice therefore comes from continually lie heaping aping the burden upon a willing few while a great number of nominal and non ers continually clamor tor for more public benefits |