Show 1 SALi SALT LAKE AND STATE NEWS I FIGHT PROPOSED RAISE Snit Salt Lake Au Aug The hearings be beCore before fore Core the board of oC tion on the proposed raise of oC the rate rato of oC tax taxation atlon on sheep and cattle continuo continua today to he concluded tomorrow evening The board will take Friday to consider the long list of protests being made and by br Saturday ought to be ready to decide what action to tota ta take e Mr Bennion of oC Verna memo main bar bel of the hoard calls to toa toa a public misconception The sian seems to be that the tho board has made mado the 40 pel cent anyhow and is now h hearing protests On the tho contrary the board merely a proposition to raise ralso the rate of tax atlon If aUer hearing all protests it is considered advisable to lo do so soNo soNo No nation whatever has been taken and whether there will be an anis any is not nol yet ret decided The Tho members of the various county count commission and assessment boards who appeared before the tho state hoard board this held a brief conference among themselves In the tho anteroom when they ther that an equitable and satisfactory WO way of solving the livestock tax rate problem would be betho bethe the tho appointment of a revenue c cOmmis sion Sian to revue the revenue laws of the state Such a board would he able to so arrange for the application of ta taxation as to obviate In injustice jus lice and place the whole matter maller on an equitable basis The county officers present are arc cry earnest In iii protesting against the proposed 40 10 per cent raise One sp special cial reason Is that the tho count county books bools are arc made up UI for the current assess assessment assessment ment and tax notices have either been sent out outs or about to be mailed Ac Action lion tion by br the state board as proposed will force the county count officers to lo re reopen reopen open their books go over theIr fig CIS tires mes ago again in revise t their recapitulation send out Olt new notices and cause causo no end of confusion J l Ir Scott ot or Millard county who appeared before the state board to today today day called attention to the fact that thal In his shire there were vere few local sheep but any quantity or of transients He represented rather the tho cattle Inter Interests interests ests on whom an Imposition of oC 40 per percent percent cent additional tax would work a gross Injustice The assessments are made In with all the cattle on home feeding grounds and with the proposed ad addition to the full ful value alue of oC herds when owners suffered subsequent subsequent quent winter losses as thor they always do with full taxation paid on such loss losses oss es owners would find themselves in very hard halll straits Mr r Scott held that thata a fair valuation on cattle In his oun ty would ho bo ii a head bead with 3 for Sheep Elias Jenson and M iL J Rich Richards Richards ards of oC county assessor and county commissioner respectively I I were among the tho Protestants today re representing presentIng both cattle and sheep They explained that the proposed raise would tax one man higher than another There Thore were undoubtedly some owners who s manipulated their herds as to escape taxation j but be because because cause a few Cew men were dishonest that was no reason for punishing those In Interested In the Industry as a whole A special point was aB made of oC the fact that the boots books were all made up Tip and the confusion attendant upon be beIng being Ing called to do all their bookkeeping over again as already noted Then there would be the question Shall we ve assess 40 per cent less this year In view oC at the threatened action of the state board to raise ralso 40 per Ier percent 1 cent I If no reduction was made and the tho raise carried out the tax would woud amount to per pOl cent The net fact that most of the cattle of county count are arc on the home feed feedIng feedIng Ing grounds at the time of the tho January Januar assessment and can not escape the tho eyes ees of the assessor was County Attorney T L Foot Foote Coon Coun 1 ty Clerk rr r w V Vickers and Assessor William Bailey of Juab county were also on the list of oC protestants present They were not nol objecting to any rca rea raise In tax rate say sar 10 or 15 Ier cent if iC It was found necessary ar arbut but a 10 per cent elevation was alto too high for foi Juab They Thoy con can considered present conditions due to the ltv providing how long sheep may be assessed In the c cOunty where they are aro first found after January 1 If ono one county puts luts a per cent valuation on sheep while others place not nol over SO or tO GO the sheep will all go to that county favoring the most County Commissioner George G cargo Smith of said lie he was more Inter Interested Interested ested in cattle than sheep It Is impossible for cattle to escape the notice of the assessor as In the tho winter sInter time they are arc being fed at home and anel not on the ranges which are aie closed ly by the heay heavy snows So there was nothing hid up Ull In Summitt out of the reach of taxation Mr Smith considered the present valuation of cattle 1713 fall fair for fOl Sum Summitt mitt but ii 11 is high enough without an any further raise The rho assess assessment ment Is at the full valuation Chairman Samuel Singleton of the county commissioners and J 1 II H Ku Kil of county were earnest objectors to the tO 10 per cent Increase hoth as applied to cattle and sheep which are now jiow assessed In full val value valtie ue tie In fact a full ull would bo be 16 to 17 1 Co for l cattle with to 53 for sheep An Any raise ralso In the tho tax rate would he be a severe Injustice on owner If H there was ap apy shortage In enumeration tion It was in the case of transients whose herders helders or owners may have misled assessors thus causing trouble In fact Mr lr Singleton rather Tather Imagined there thero had been beau some queer doings in inthis inthis this In all trades but ours and ours all tricks lie he quaintly remarked While prepared to admit there had been some in the listing of transient sheep he he held strongly that such ac action tion as the tho state board proposed to talce would tend ten I to make mako mOIl moi moro more dishonest or else drive them out of the business Mr Mi Singleton ton thought the tho legislature the proper source for Cor Cora fora a remedy and the legislature cou could settle the tho matter ery eQ A AK AK K Hansen of Sevier count county a former county countr official said hIs people were all small owners whoso sheep had been assessed at full Cull value and were opposed to any a advance Chairman A n B Waller alker of oC the Utah countr commissioners Commissioners C H and D T Lewis and Assessor J H Peck are also appear appearIng In Ing before beCore the state board In iii earnest call special attention to the fact that Utah county countr lives livestock tach Is owned mostly In small lots by Individuals and there are arc no large herds of either or sheep ranging over oYer the mountains So In neither case can there be an any hiding up Iii of sheep or cattle out of the tho sight oi of the assessor Everything Is On the square In their theil shire with 16 full for cattle and for sheep The he count county books have hae been mado up and tax notices sent Hent out and now to Increase the tax as proposed the they floUt would be a gross injustice on stock owners who would be thus forc forced ed to go an all over thou their books again The legislature can and ought to straighten out the attend attendIng ing the solution or of the problem |