The fiscal problem in Missouri

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1833271335

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-230042

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: The fiscal problem in Missouri

Place of publication:: New York

Publisher:: National Industrial Conference Board, Inc.

Year of publication:: 1930

Scope:: xvi, 359 S.

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter V. Tax administration

Collection:: Economics Books

128 THE FISCAL PROBLEM IN MISSOURI nearly comparable that they will not show glaring in- equalities. Although true value in money is the legal standard for valuation in Missouri, it is a known fact that only in rare instances is property other than certain intangibles assessed at its true value. The average piece of real property in the state is probably assessed at not more than 55%, of true or full value. Other forms of tangible property are also valued on a basis much lower than the legal standard. On the whole, the legal standard has no real application, except possibly in the assessment of bank stock, and in practice the assessment procedure represents an attempt by the assessor to establish a standard of value at some level considerably below the legal standard. Even if statutory provision should be made for a fractional assessment of 50% or 60%, it does not follow that property would be assessed at the required legal standard. To lower the legal standard does not necessarily solve the problem. This seems to be demonstrated by the experience of Iowa with fractional assessment. “If we may take the experience of the state of Iowa, which probably has permitted fractional assessment longer than any other state, as conclusive, nothing can be hoped for from this device. For the actual assessment is probably about one fourth or one third of the required assessment, which in turn is only 25 per cent of the actual value. In any case, all the inducements for under- valuation remain. It might even be argued that the lower valuation serves to conceal differences in the percentages at which different properties are actually assessed.” The low actual standard of valuation as compared with the legal standard in Missouri may probably be attributed to three principal reasons. In the first place, assessment at a figure lower than the true value tends to facilitate acceptance of the assessment as legal by the taxpayer. Furthermore, the assessment at a fraction of the true value tends to conceal differences in the ratios of assessed value to true value. In other words, a fractional assessment in practice will not result so readilv in accusations of inequalities. and assessors ! Jensen, J. P., The General Property Tax, 1926, p. 87. This work was pre- pared for a doctor’s thesis at the University of Chicago.

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