202 THE FISCAL PROBLEM IN MISSOURI 
increasing competition of foreign countries in the world 
market for agricultural products, have been contributing 
causes of the agricultural depression. 
Taxes Pap oN Missourt Farm ProPERTY 
[t is not possible to compute the total amount of taxes 
paid on farm property in Missouri, for the reason that the 
requisite data concerning rates of taxation and valuations of 
farm property throughout the state are not available. For 
the year 1927 the United States Department of Agriculture 
made an estimate of the general property tax on farm prop- 
erty in all the states.! According to this estimate the general 
property taxes on all farm property in Missouri amounted to 
$20,063,000 for 1927. It therefore appears that taxes on 
farm property accounted for approximately one fifth of the 
state and local general property taxes, which amounted to 
$100,948,955.2 In a report to the State Survey Commission 
a similar conclusion was reached for the year 1928. For that 
year property taxes paid by farmers were placed at less than 
$20 million. 
Reference to Tables 41 and 42 indicates that the valuation 
of lands and the valuation of farm-owned personal property 
would amount to much more than one fifth of the general 
property tax base for the state. It should be noted, however, 
that not all lands represent land in farms, and that the 
estimate of slightly more than $20 million does not take into 
consideration the general property tax paid on forest and 
other lands not owned by farmers. If allowance were made 
for this fact, and an addition were made to the farm general 
property tax base on account of livestock, farm implements, 
automobiles, and so on, it would be found that the proportion 
of the total tax base attributable to farm property would be 
considerably larger than the proportion of total general 
property taxes paid by farmers. The reason for this is that 
the tax rate is considerably lower on the average in rural 
communities than in urban communities. It has been pointed 
1 United States Department of Agriculture, Technical Bulletin, No. 172, 
State and local general property tax total computed from data in Tables 31 
and 32, pp. 103 and 108. 
* The Taxation System of Missouri, 1929, p. 25.