TAXATION AND REVENUE SYSTEMS—GEORGIA. 
61 
Back taxes not assessed or collected in previous 
years may be assessed and collected in any year by 
comptroller general. 
Domestic fire and life insurance companies doing business on 
legal reserve plan, are required to return for taxation all their real 
estate as other real estate is returned, and all the personal property, 
the latter to be ascertained by deducting from the total value of the 
assets held by the company, both real and personal, the assessed 
value of all real estate owned by the company in the state, the 
nontaxable bonds deposited with state treasurer, and amount of 
the reserve or net value of its policies required by law to be held 
by the company. 
Property of all public utility companies is assessed by the comp 
troller general. Railroads operating in more than one state are as 
sessed on that proportion of their rolling stock which the mileage 
in Georgia bears to the total mileage. That is, the unit rule is 
applied to rolling stock only. The fixed property in each county is 
assessed where located, and the rolling stock is assessed as a whole 
and apportioned among the counties in proportion to the value 
of the fixed property in each. Special franchises of public service 
corporations are assessed by the comptroller general and the as 
sessment is apportioned to the localities in which the property is 
located. 
Property returned to the comptroller general and consisting 
mainly of public service corporation property shall be returned not 
later than the 1st day of March; the valuations relate to January 1 
of that year and shall be paid on or before the 1st day of September 
of the same year. 
Express, telephone, and telegraph companies are also assessed 
upon their property, including the franchise, by the comptroller 
general. 
Sleeping car companies, etc., are assessed upon their cars, the 
number assessable in Georgia being determined by the unit rule 
on basis of mileage. 
Other railroad equipment companies are taxed as are sleeping 
car companies. 
Banks are not assessed upon their capital, but the shares of stock 
are assessed to the owners in the county where the bank is located. 
The shares are valued for taxation at their “full market value” 
less the value (if clear) or the equity (if mortgaged) of the bank’s 
real estate. 
The president, or other official of manufacturing companies, other 
than those required to make return of their franchise to the comp 
troller general, shall return for taxation at its true market value 
all real estate to the tax receiver of the county wherein real estate 
is located; if in two or more counties the return is to be made to the 
tax receiver in the county where the main building containing 
the machinery, or most of the main buildings are located; such 
enterprises conducted on nontaxable property, return for taxation 
the stock of merchandise, raw material, machinery, live stock, with 
other personalty and manufactured goods, notes and accounts, 
money in hand, in the county in which is taxable the realty whereon 
such business enterprises are located; agents of foreign enterprises to 
make return of all stock of merchandise on hand, money, accounts, 
etc., to the tax receiver where the same may be, to be taxed for 
state and county purposes, as other property in the state is taxed, 
the word “merchandise” being held to include guano and com 
mercial fertilizer. All canal and stock water navigation com 
panies shall make through their respective executive officers or 
stockholders in possession of the same returns to the tax receiver 
of each county in which the same is located, or through which the 
same shall pass, in whole or in part, of the right of way, locks and 
dams, toll houses, structures, and all other real estate owned or 
used by such company or stockholders thereof. 
c. Equalization.—There is no equalization properly 
so called. Whenever there is a disagreement between 
the tax receiver and the tax payer as to the valuation 
of property, each appoints an arbitrator who may, in 
case of disagreement, select an umpire. The award 
of the arbitrators is final. The same procedure applies 
in case of corporations making returns to the comp 
troller general. 
2. Rate— 
The legislature occasionally passes a general tax 
act for succeeding years authorizing the governor 
with the assistance of the comptroller general to levy 
such a tax as is necessary to meet the appropriation of 
the legislature for the succeeding years and to raise 
in addition a specified sum for a sinking fund required 
by the constitution of the state. 
The amount to be raised for the sinking fund has 
been $100,000 annually since 1910. The rate of tax 
ation for all purposes as fixed for 1912 was 5 mills. 
The state, although it appropriates for school 
purposes about one-half of the taxes collected, does 
not levy specifically for schools. 
3. Collection— 
With the exception of taxes on certain corpora 
tions which are paid to the comptroller general, taxes 
are collected by the county tax collectors. The re 
turns of taxable property are to be made after the 
1st day of April of each year, and taxes are due on 
the 20th day of April of each succeeding year. 
Delinquent taxes, all of which bear interest at 7 per 
cent, may be collected by execution. In certain cases 
the tax collector is made ex officio sheriff for the pur 
pose of enforcing collection. 
Collectors are paid by fees, as follows: 
On the first $1,000, 6 per cent; on the second $1,000, 4 per cent; 
on the third $1,000, 3 per cent; on the fourth $1,000, 2J per cent; 
on the fifth and sixth $1,000, 2J per cent; on the seventh and eighth 
$1,000, 2| per cent; on the ninth to twelfth $1,000, 2 percent; on the 
thirteenth to eighteenth $1,000, If per cent; on the nineteenth to 
thirty-sixth $1,000, H per cent; on all over $36,000, If per cent. 
B. POLL TAXES. 
Every male person between the ages of 21 and 60 
years, except blind persons and all persons who have 
lost a limb or limbs, or the use of the same, while 
actually engaged in military sendee of the Confed 
eracy, shall pay an annual poll tax of $1, collected as 
other taxes by the tax collector. 
The proceeds of this tax are to be used for elementary 
educational purposes only. 
C. THE INHERITANCE TAX. 
There is no inheritance tax in Georgia. 
D. CORPORATION TAXES. 
Corporations are generally taxed in the same man 
ner as individuals on the general property. (See 
under General property tax, above.) 
Corporations pay an annual license or occupation 
tax to the tax collector of county where located, deter