224 THE FISCAL PROBLEM IN MISSOURI 
capital value past and future incomes are also considered. 
The result is that in a period in which the income is very low 
or is declining rapidly the valuation will not represent a 
capitalization of the income at the time. Since past, present, 
and future incomes are considered in the capitalization proc- 
ess, it follows that the variations in capital value are not so 
marked as are those in income. In other words, in a period 
of agricultural depression the decline in the value of the 
property tends to lag behind the decline in income. There- 
fore, a tax measured by the value of property in general 
absorbs a larger proportion of income in a period of declining 
income than in a period in which income remains more or less 
constant. 
Another factor may be traced to the assessment process. 
Not all assessors make allowance for the decline in capital 
value in assessing property. While the value of lands has 
been decreasing in recent years, it is doubtful that the decline 
in assessed valuations has kept pace with the decline in real 
values. One aspect of this problem is that when a given 
valuation is placed on the tax books, the average assessor 
does not increase it or decrease it unless there has been a 
marked change in the status of the property. The value of 
every farm in Missouri changes somewhat from one June 
first to the next, but it is doubtful that the valuations of 
even one half of the farms in many counties are changed from 
year to year, when the same assessor remains in office, unless 
the valuation of lands in an entire county is changed during 
the equalization process. 
There is a wide variation in the profitableness of agriculture 
among the several sections of the state. For example, in the 
better agricultural sections in northwestern Missouri and in 
the Missouri River Valley, it is doubtful that the farm tax 
problem is serious in the case of those farmers whose property 
is assessed at average figures for the county and other local 
governments to the expenses of which they contribute. 
Relatively good farms mean high valuations on which prop- 
erty taxes are computed. High valuations result in a rela- 
tively low rate of local taxation. On the other hand, it must 
be admitted that agricultural land in a large number of 
counties in southern Missouri is not of high quality. Assum-