TAX ADMINISTRATION 
129 
naturally desire to reduce friction to a minimum. Finally, 
the state property tax is a factor, in that a relatively low 
valuation in a particular county means a proportionately 
smaller contribution to the state. 
Valuations for the General Property Tax 
The data that comprise Tables 41, 42, and 43 represent 
the valuations! as approved by the State Board of Equaliza- 
tion, with the exception of the valuations for the merchants’ 
and manufacturers’ tax, which are not subject to approval by 
the Board. Table 41 is a summary table and shows the total 
property valuations for the years 1917 through 1929 dis- 
tributed among the principal classes of property, and in 
Chart 4 the total valuations for taxes of 1917, 1921,1925, and 
1929 distributed among the principal categories of property 
are shown graphically. The total valuation for property 
taxes, including the private car tax, amounted to $4.9 billion 
for taxes of 1929. Of this amount, 729, represented the 
value of real estate—a larger proportion than in any other 
year of the period. Personal property accounted for ap- 
proximately 12.8%, of the total; public utility valuations, 
for 10%; and merchants’ and manufacturers’ valuations, for 
a little more than 59%. 
Conditions during the period for which data are given 
were very troublesome for administrators of the general 
property tax. The factors influencing values changed with 
unusual rapidity, particularly during the first half of the 
period. From 1917 through 1921 assessors had to confront 
not only rapid changes in real values but also rapid varia- 
tions in the common denominator of value, the dollar. The 
fluctuations in the purchasing power of the dollar tended to 
complicate the attempts of the assessors to secure uniformity. 
In more recent years farm values have declined and have 
become a special problem in the assessment process. 
In valuing property for taxes of 1921 a concerted effort 
was made to raise valuations to a level nearer actual value, 
The increase in total valuation amounted to approximately 
1 The valuations as approved by the State Board of Equalization are final. How- 
ever, before computing taxes payable the county clerks make certain corrections 
occasioned by duplicate assessments and other errors in the assessment process, 
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