TAXATION AND REVENUE SYSTEMS—MISSOURI. 
131 
tion, may in their discretion levy and collect in the same manner as 
state and county taxes are collected, a special tax not exceeding 
25 cents on each $100 valuation, to be used for road and bridge pur 
poses, but for no other purpose whatever; and the power hereby 
given said county courts and township boards is declared to be a 
discretionary power. 
OFFICERS. 
The officers most directly concerned with taxation 
are: 
In counties having township organization: 
(1) Township assessor; township clerk, elected biennially, is ex 
officio assessor. 
(2) Township collector, elected biennially. 
In cities: 
(3) City assessor in cities of the first class, appointed by the mayor. 
City assessor may appoint one or more competent deputies. The 
city board of appeals consists of the mayor, comptroller, and the 
president of the common council. 
(4) City treasurer in cities of the first class, elected for two years, 
who acts ex officio as city collector. 
(5) City assessor in cities of the second class, appointed by the 
mayor for two years. 
(6) City treasurer in cities of the second class, who acts ex officio 
as collector. 
(7) Assessors in cities of the third and fourth classes, elected for 
two years. 
(8) Collectors in cities of the third and fourth classes, elected for 
two years. 
In the counties generally: 
(9) County assessor, elected for a term of four years. No person is 
to hold the office two successive terms. 
(10) Collector of the revenue, elected for four years. 
(11) County board of equalization, composed of the county clerk, 
county surveyor, the judges of the county court, and the county 
assessor. In counties having township organization the sheriff is a 
member. 
(12) State board of equalization, consisting of the governor, state 
auditor, treasurer, secretary of state, and attorney general. 
(Note.)—“County” includes St. Louis. All services required of 
county officers are to be performed by the corresponding officers of 
the city of St. Louis. 
(13) License collector, in cities having 300,000 inhabitants or more 
(St. Louis only) elected even' four years, collects all license taxes 
required by law or ordinance, excepting the dramshop and wharfage 
licenses, the tax on telegraph and telephone poles, the dog tax, 
the merchant ad valorem tax, the vehicle license tax, and the 
special tax on foreign insurance companies. 
(14) In St. Louis the duties of the county board of equalization 
relating to taxation of merchants are vested in a board of manufac 
turers’ and merchants’ tax equalization composed of three real 
estate owners, resident for 10 years in said city, appointed by the 
mayor. 
Assessors are compensated by commissions based on the number of 
lists—25 cents per list for taking the first 3,000, and 20 cents for 
each list in addition thereto, and a fee of 3 cents per entry for making 
personal assessment book. 
State Revenues. 
A. GENERAL PROPERTY TAXES. 
1. Base— 
a. The property included and exempt.—All property, 
real and personal, is subject to taxation except as 
specially exempted. 
(1) Real property includes not only the land itself, but also the 
buildings, structures, and improvements and other permanent fix 
tures thereon, all mills, factories, and machinery connected there 
with, and all rights and privileges appertaining thereto. 
(2) Personal property includes bonds, stocks, moneys, credits, 
capital stock, and every tangible thing subject to ownership not part 
or parcel of real property. 
(3) For the purpose of state, county, and municipal taxes, mer 
chandise held by merchants, and the raw material, merchandise, 
finished products, tools, machinery, and appliances used or kept 
on hand by manufacturers, constitute a class separate and distinct 
(4) Exemptions, in addition to public property, are: Property 
used for religious purposes, including churches and parsonages; 
schools and institutions of charity; property of agricultural and hor 
ticultural societies. (See Constitution, Art. X, sec. 6.) There is 
also certain property exempted by legislative contract prior to the 
adoption of the present constitution. 
b. Assessment.—In general, there is one assessment 
roll made up by the assessors of the counties, towns, 
and districts, but certain property is assessed by the 
state board of equalization. Every person is required 
to make a statement under oath of all his real and per 
sonal property, with the value thereof as of the 1st of 
June in each year. Penalty for refusing to take the 
oath is a fine of $10 to $1,000. The assessor is to assess 
all property at its true value in money or the cash 
price at the time of listing, but if a person fails to make 
his statement, the assessor is to list the property at 
double its value, or at treble the value in case of a 
fraudulent list. 
Mortgages on real estate are assessed as personal property, and the 
mortgagee is required to give them in for taxation, while the land is 
also taxed on its assessed value without deducting the value of the 
mortgage. 
Shares of stock in banks and insurance companies are assessed at 
their true value in money, less the value of the real estate repre 
sented by them, together with all reserved funds, undivided profits, 
premiums, and earnings. Insurance companies doing business on 
the mutual plan -without capital stock are to make return of the net 
value of all assets. The taxes assessed on the shares of stock or net 
assets are to be paid by the corporation and may be recovered by it 
from the shareholders. Shares of stock in manufacturing compa 
nies are not subject to taxation against the owners. Taxes on shares 
of stock in an insurance company and building and loan association 
are payable by the owners thereof, and not by the corporation or 
association. 
Railroad property used in operation and franchises are assessed 
by the state board of equalization, including such proportion of 
the total value of the rolling stock as the number of miles in the 
state bears to the total length of the road. The unit rule thus 
applies to rolling stock only. The county courts of the several 
counties examine the statements made by the railroads and make 
corrections before submission to the state board. 
Car companies of all kinds are assessed by the state board on the 
average value of cars in use in the state. 
The entire property, real and personal, including franchises, of 
street car companies is assessed by the state board on the basis of 
returns to the state auditor in the manner that railroad property is 
assessed. The state board of equalization apportions its assessment 
to each county, municipal township, city, or incorporated town in 
which the road is located, according to mileage. 
“Local” property of railroad companies, including lands, ma 
chine and work shops, roundhouses, warehouses, and other build 
ings is assessed by the assessors of the several counties, cities, towns, 
and villages. 
Telegraph, telephone, toll and interstate bridges, and express 
companies are assessed by the state board of equalization on their