334 THE FISCAL PROBLEM IN MISSOURI 
and $29.00 in 1928. The rate of increase was more gradual 
than in per capita state taxes. 
In 1928 state tax collections in Missouri were exceeded in 
four of the eleven states used for purposes of comparison. On 
a per capita basis state tax collections in Missouri amounted 
to $9.50 in 1928, a smaller amount than in nine of the eleven 
comparable states. 
TAX ADMINISTRATION 
The administration of the general property tax is admit- 
tedly unsatisfactory. The administrative agencies include 
the county and other local assessors, the county boards of 
equalization, the State Tax Commission, and the State 
Board of Equalization. 
Although the legal standard of assessment for the general 
property tax is true value in money, in practice the average 
ratio of assessed valuation to true or full value for real estate, 
as indicated by sales value, is found to be about 55%,. The 
grand total valuation of all property for taxes of 1929 
amounted to approximately $4.9 billion. Real estate ac- 
counted for 729, of the total valuation, and the valuation of 
town lots exceeded that for lands by approximately 509%. 
Personal property valuations amounted to $632 million for 
taxes of 1929, as compared with $920 million for taxes of 1921. 
The trend in public utility valuations has been definitely 
upward for a number of years. 
The equalization process does not result in any appreciable 
change in total valuations for the general property tax. For 
taxes of 1928 the total valuation of real and personal property 
as recommended by the State Tax Commission to the State 
Board of Equalization was only 1.29, greater than that 
reported by the assessors. The changes made by the State 
Board of Equalization resulted in a decrease of about one 
one-hundredth of 19, of the total as recommended by the 
State Tax Commission. 
The present methods of equalization, it is found, are not 
effective in eliminating or reducing to a minimum the in- 
equalities in assessments. Both the State Tax Commission 
and the State Board of Equalization exercise certain func-