222 THE FISCAL PROBLEM IN MISSOURI 
to a ratio of $1.34 per $100 of assessed value. It will be re- 
called that the State Survey Commission estimated that the 
average rural tax rate in the state was $1.35 per $100. In a 
previous section it was pointed out that the average rate on 
rural property in the state appeared to be between $1.30 and 
$1.40. Also in testing the estimate of total taxes on all farm 
property, the estimate as made by the United States De- 
partment of Agriculture was divided by the total valuation of 
lands, and the result was $1.35 per $100 of assessed value. In 
making the latter calculation, it was assumed that the valua- 
tion of lands not included in farms would be offset by the 
value of livestock and other personal property of farmers that 
is assessed for taxation. These various calculations and 
estimates indicate that an average rate of $1.35 per $100 of 
assessed value 1s approximately correct. 
On the basis of the tax rate on true value as shown in 
Table 72, Missouri ranked forty-seventh among the states, 
counting the District of Columbia as a state. Only Virginia 
and Florida showed a lower ranking. Missouri ranked last 
among the states in the west north-central group. On the 
basis of index numbers, taxes in Missouri were only 63.9% as 
high as those on the average owner-operated farm in the 
United States, while in relation to taxes on owner-operated 
farms in the west north-central group, taxes in Missouri were 
found to be equal to only 75.7%, of the average for the group. 
In view of the fact that the sample for Missouri was very 
large and included farms from all sections of the state and 
that the samples used for all other states were highly repre- 
sentative, it may be affirmed that the data in this table are 
more conclusive than any other that have been presented. 
The fact that the data in this table are six years old does not 
affect appreciably their value for purposes of comparison. 
In certain states, there have been some changes in the tax 
system that might tend to cause taxes on farm property to 
increase or decrease at a relatively low rate or to remain 
practically stationary, but, on the whole, it is doubtful that 
such changes would cause any particular difference in the 
conclusions that would be derived from Table 72. if the data 
were for a more recent year. 
The net rent studies, the supplementary data introduced as