0
SIX MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
Wednesday, October 19. 195S
1
Tax Commissioner
(Editor's note: This issue of
orchard tree taxation in Jack
son county has been the sub
ject of considerable coniro
ersy here since last spring.
The following statement by
State Tax Commissioner Sam
Stewart gives a detailed ex
planation of the commission's
stand on the matter. It is in
the form of an answer to Wil
liam L. Smith of Central
Point, whose letter to the
commission protesting the tax
ation of trees and hearings
which resulted appeared re
cently in the Mail Tribune.)
State of Oregon
State Tax Commission
Valuation Division
Salem
Dear Mr. Smith:
You letter of Oct. 7 poses a
great number of questions rela
tive to this commission's actions
inQTackson county. As a citizen
ofethis state, you have every
right to be apprised of what ac
tion your state government is
taking, and why. Believing
firmly in that fundamental right,
I shall attempt to the best of my
ability to answer them.
The state is, as you are fully
aware, divided into 36 counties,
and certain county officers are
provided by state law, both con
stitutional and statutory, to
carry out state laws. Those of
ficers concerned with carrying
out the laws relating to the prop
erty tax are the assessor and the
county board of equalization. It
is expected that these county
officers will carry out those
state laws within their respec
tive jurisdictions to the end that
the law is applied uniformly in
each county of the state, so that
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a taxpayer,, regardless of the
county he lives in, will be ac
corded uniform treatment. To
insure that this state of affairs
obtains, the state tax commis
sion was created and given cer
tain powers. One of those pow
ers is as follows: ,
Law Cited
'The state tax- commission
shall exercise general super
vision of the system of taxa
tion throughout the state, and
general supervision and con
trol over the administration of
the assessment and tax laws
and over county assessors and
county boards of equalization
in the performance of their
duties relating to taxation to
the end that all taxable prop
erty is assessed uniformly ac
cording to law and equality
of taxation according to law is
secured."
It was recognized by the legis
lature in 1951 that the adminis
tration of the property tax was
characterized by the grossest
sort of inequities which could
not be substantially eliminated
by the commission issuing orders
raising or lowering individual
properties or classes of property
but could only be done by in
suring that the original ap
praisals were correct in the
first instance. The legislature,
on the basis of the foregoing, in
stituted the statewide reap
praisal program, designed to re
appraise all real property- in the
state over a 10-year period. This
program was to be accomplished
by the counties and this commis
sion working together to ac
complish this end. Pursuant
thereto, Jackson county and this
commission entered into, an
agreement to reappraise that
county, commission appraisers
to appraise,? among other prop
erties, all farm lands.
True Cash Value
The statutory basis of deter
mining value for property tax
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. ItlKlmc' fOME BACK
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PUT0CUCLE4M SHIRT?
ran vnn rU4UfiE YOUR
UNOERWE4R? YOUR SOX?
WELL.SO RIGHT BACK.
UPST4IRS AiV DO SO
AUD GET A CLE4N
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F4THER,Y0U'D GO
OUT LOOKING LIKE
TRAMPS.'.'
Bock St airs: Ike May Rest in
By MERRIMAN SMITH
United Press White House Writer
Denver (U.R) Backstairs at
the temporary White House:
The President apparently is
under the assumption that he
will spend ; the period of con
valescence at his farm in Gettys
burg, Pa. His medical advisers,
however, are toying with the
idea that he might be more
comfortable somewhere in south
Florida during late November
and December.
No decisions have been made,
but when the President is in
an acceptive mood, he undoubt
edly will be asked how he feels
about Florida.
Rainbow trout show up oc
casionally on the President's
menu at Fitzsimons Army Hos
pital. The - supplier? Sherman
Truck and Promise
Plague Fire Laddies
Canton, 111. (U.R) The
Canton city council is plagued
with a fire truck that just won't
wear out.
The truck was purchased 15
years ago with funds donated by
Canton area farmers. In return,
the Canton city council agreed
to give free Tural fire protection
during the life of the truck.
Now the rural fire protection
is becoming too much of a fin
ancial burden, but the truck
won't wear out.
Alderman Manley Staley pro
posed that the truck be declared
worn out even though it still
has a- lot of life left in it.
"It the city keeps on repairing
that truck, it'll last forever,"
Staley said, "we've got to take
some sort of action."
Staley's proposal was shelved
until the first of the year.
Yellowstone National Park,
the nation's oldest, was created
in 1872. The newest is Ever
glades National Park, created
in 1947. -
Explains
purposes of any class of property
is true cash value, defined as fol
lows: -
"True cash value of all
property, real and personal,
means the amount the prop
erty would sell for at a volun
tary sale made in the ordi
nary course of business, under
normal conditions, in accord
ance with rules and regula
tions promulgated by the
state tax commission."
This 'definition of true cash
value is practically synony
mous with that of market value.
For that reason the tax commis
sion uses market value as the
basis for its appraisals.
The rules and regulations of
this commission provide that
"market value as a basis for true
cash value shall be taken to
mean the amount of money or
money's worth for which prop
erty may be exchanged within a
reasonable period of time under
conditions in which both parties
to the exchange are able, will
ing and reasonably well in
formed." ' Market value is
achieved by the use of one or
more of three accepted appraisal
techniques: (1) Cost, i.e., repro
duction or replacement cost less
depreciation, (2) Capitalization
of income, and (3) Sales.
Factors Listed
The use of these methods re
quires consideration of a num
ber of factors such as:
(1) Kind of orchard. (This be
cause different fruit and nuts
have entirely different income
and cost patterns.)
(2) Variety of fruit. (This be
cause varieties such as Red De
licious, Golden Delicious, New
town, and Winesap apples com
mand prices in excess of less fa
ored varieties, thus indicating
the income-producing capabili
ties of an orchard, as well as
what a prospective purchaser
would pay for the same.)
(3) Condition of trees.
M4 IS FOREVER
TTjEK, WHEN THE
SOILED CLOTHES
PILE UP LKE
POLICING POP
AND JUNIOR TO
SEE THAT THEY
PUT OM CLEAN
AtT. VESUVIUS,
POOR M4 CANY
UNDERSTAND
ITAT4LL,4T
LINEN 4T LEAST
ONCE 4 DAY
Adams, the assistant to the
President.
Adams, an ardent fly-caster,
went fishing last Sunday up in
the mountains near Nederland,
Colo., northwest of Denver, and
had pretty good luck.
Some of the Washington re
porters who have been covering
the President out here for more
than two months are being ro
tated by their home offices. The
experienced White House men
are being sent home for a couple
of weeks of rest before taking
over what promise to be a long
chore of covering the President's
post-hospital recovery period.
One of the increasingly pop
ular outdoor sports in the vicin
ity of Fitzsimons Army Hospital
where the President is a patient
is watching Mr. Eisenhower
through binoculars while he is
sunning himself on his eighth
floor terrace.
Furthermore, the President
has his own set of binoculars
and peers back at the people
who are watching him.
Most frustrated photographer
in Denver this week was Charles
F. Hanseni a local amateur who
spent three straight days on the
lawn beneath the President's
sundeck,' hoping for a shot of the
Chief Executive.
Hansen connected . a 35-mm.
camera to his 45-power tele
scope and waited patiently for
the President to come close to
the terrace railing and wave to
the people below.
USE READY-MIX.
CONCRETE
Phone 2-5336 or 2-5897
M. C. UNINGER & SONS
Stand on Tree Taxation
(4) Topographic location.
(5) Age of trees.
(6) Market outlets.
Committee of Orchardists Here
Inasmuch as the persons best
able to give this information
were and are orchard owners,
we organized in Jackson county,
as in every other county where
we worked, a committee of
orchardists to assist us in valu
ing orchards. It was at this junc
ture that we found orchard trees
were not being assessed by the
assessor. The orchardists would
not cooperate with us in de
termining values, and the asses
sor would not assess them un
less ordered to do so by this
commission.
The commision discussed the
problem with other counties in
the state, and with other states,
and with profesors of agricul
tural economics at Oregon State
college as well as with other
state schools, notably Iowa State
college. We learned that orchards
were being assessed and were,
further, in their opinion assess
able. Dr. Blanch, of Oregon
State college, is one with whom
we discussed this matter, and I
suggest you might find it of in
terest to discuss it with him.
Further, it was the considered
opinion of our legal staff and
of the attorney general that
orchard trees were legally as
sessable as an increment of
value to the land.
Thereafter, during the time
that our farm appraisers were in
Jackson County, the value of
the trees was taken into consid
eration on the basis of the fac
tors heretofore mentioned.
Orchards were classified with
age and condition being given
the most consideration. Average
orchards were classed as A
orchards; those below average
but still producing, as B orchards
those below average but still
producing, as B orchards; young
non-producing orchards were
By Jimmy Hatlo
LAND SAKES Ar n I
11
WHAT Am I PIlNMlklA
HERE-A LAUNDRY FOR
THE FOREifiU t Psinv p
ALLIDOISWASH,W4SH,
VfASH DIRTY CLOTHES.'
MOUNTAINS OF DIRTY,
rTHlSW4y)
OUT"
Florida
While Hansen was rigged up
for the pictures, the President
stayed away from the railing.
Finally Hansen packed up his
equipment and went home.
To wait any longer, he said,
might put him in bad with his
office.
Biggest Back Yard
Planted to Bulbs
Lisse, Holland (U.R) The man
with the biggest backyard in the
world planted his spring bulbs
this month.
He is Willem vanderLee, a
Dutch landscape architect charg
ed with filling the 75 acres of
Holland's Keukenhof Gardens
with tulips, hyacinths, daffodils,
and other spring-flowering bulb.s
VanderLee's job requires the
combined talents of a botanist
and an adroit diplomat. Not only
must he see that more than
1,000,000 bulbs are properly
planted, but he must placate 80
individual exhibitors, all of
whom have their own ideas
about placing the bulbs.
The 75 acres are planted from
a master plan. Every year, the
entire crop of bulbs is removed,
the shapes of the beds changed
and the Keukenhof re-planted.
VanderLee had this advice for
American gardeners:
"Plant your tulips six Inches
deep and six apart, then sit back
and relax until next spring and
you will have flowers that will
make you proud."
classed as C, with no value as
signed; and old, deteriorated
orchards and orchards planted
on land totally unsuited for or
chards, in class D, also with no
value being assigned thereto.
Went on Premises
It cannot be denied that bet
ter appraisals would have been
achieved had we received the
cooperation of the orchardists,
but failing to" receive same we
did the best we could under the
circumstances. We did, in ap
praising .the orchard property,
and here I wish to emphasize,
actually 'go on the premises so
as to determine such factors as
age, condition, kind of fruit,
and location.
During this period, efforts
were continually made to
achieve the cooperation of the
orchard committee as well as of
the Assessor, to no avail. Realiz
ing that definite action was nec
essary, as time was running out
within which to get the values
on the roll and proceed with
the orderly collection of taxes,
we ordered the board of equaliz
ation then in session to place
upon the roll the value of orch
ard trees. This action was taken
pursuant to ORB 306.130, which
provides as follows:
"The state tax commission
may do any act or give any
order to any county board of
equalization or county asses
sor as to the valuation of any
property or class of property
which the commission deems
necessary so that all taxable
property is assessed according
to law and equalized between
taxpayers, between counties
and between taxing units to
the end that equality of taxa
tion according to law shall
be secured."
Suggested Figures
The board of equalization was
at no time ordered to use' the
values achieved by our apprais
ers. In fact, the board came . to
Salem and suggested to this com
mission that they use values of
$50 per acre on apples, $75 per
acre on stone fruit, and $100
per acre on pears. The orchard
ists, however, would not accept
this modification of commission
values although this commis
sion had informed the board that
those values were acceptable to
it if the board believed that
those values properly represent
ed the values which should be
applied. The board, upon the
refusal of the orchardists to ac
cept this modification, then ord
1.
5.
citfre Stare vriSh yoor
FORD DEALER S
CRATER HACCE ftftOT RS
Main at Fir Medford Phone 3-4549
ered the assessor to use the
values achieved by this Commis
sion's appraisers.
The board, however, did not
comply with ORS 309.090, which
required that five days' notice
of this action , be given and a
hearing held for each taxpayer
involved. Appeals were then
prosecuted t this commission
by counsel for a great number
of orchardists, including your
self, all of which alleged that
the action of the board of equal
ization was void because of fail
ure to give this type of notice.
The commission agreed with
counsel for yourself and the
orchardists in general conten
tion, and ordered the board to
reconvene, give the five day's
notice, and hold hearings as re
quired by law. The board, how
ever, declined to do so, where
upon the commission acted pur
suant to ORC 309.400, which
provides in relevant part as follows:-
i
"... If a county board of
equalization fails to comply
with any order or require
ment of the commission, the
commission may make the cor
rection or change in the assess
ment roll, and the corrections
and changes shall be a part of
the record of the proceedings
of the board of equalization. If
the commission raises the val
uation of any property or adds
property to the assessment roll
it shall give notice for the
same time and in the same
manner as is required in like
cases for county boards of
equalization."
Sent Notices
This commission, in compli
ance with the foregoing, sent
out the five days' notice to each
taxpayer involved and is holding
the hearings required. At those
hearings you will be able to pre
sent your evidence as to why
the values achieved by tax com
mission appraisers on your prop
erties are too high. If you prove
your contentions, relief will be
granted. As proof of that asser
tion, this commission has already
on the basis of hearings held to
date, determined that errors in
some instances have been made,
and is even now preparing or
ders to the assessor to adjust
the assessment roll in those in
stances.
A final word as to my actions
in this matter: As a state tax
commissioner, it is my duty to
enforce the law as it exists. It
is not for me to apply that law
aSed carp
r7V
in Jackson County
in one area, in one way, and In
another area in another, nor am
I to enforce the law on the basis
of whether I believe the law is
'Honesty Evalualor'
Appraises Applicants
Chicago (U.R) John Reid, a
nationally known lie-detector
expert, has announced a new
type of employment application
form called the "honesty evalu
alor." The form is designed to
appraise the trustworthiness of
persons who apply for jobs
which may offer an opportunity
to steaL
Reid says the form consists
of 158 questions (many of them
similar to standard form queries)
which can, through interpreta
tion, serve as a guide to the
applicant's reliability.
Reid said that "polygraph"
lie detector tests which were
used to assess the "honesty
evaluator" proved the new form
highly reliable.
Athletics Course
Presented on Video
Vermillion, S. D. (U.R) The
University of South Dakota has
a unique course at athletics
which it also presents on televi
sion. Dr. "John Van Why, professor
of health and physical education,
said his course, entitled "Ap
preciation of Athletics,", has
grown nationally in interest. The
professor believes the course is
the first of its kind anywhere.
"Appreciation of Athletics"
strives to improve spectator con
duct and at the same time de
velop an interest in athletics.
Novices also learn the tech
nicalities of such sports as foot
ball and basketball.
kGRAGK erSwiceJfaficnis !
It ereu essiMn
cleans uour dirtiest" equipment; . . . .
dAM 5 0 W S& dfeWfSM m M
JoriWsB deMOKstratiox...caU or write,
ASHLAND, OREGON
2.
Be Sure a
Better selection. Ford
cars than other dealers. So they have moae
wonderfully eood turn-ins to be sold as used
cars. Whatever make or model you want, you're
most likely to find it at your Ford Dealers'.
Lower prices. Ford Dealers are volume dealers.
Their business prospers on quick turn-over. So
used car prices are always cut to the bone to
keep inventory moving fast.
Mere dependability. Your Ford Dealer is an
T established business man. His reputation de-
pends on keeping you pleased with every car
- he sells -used as well as new.
USED CARS AND TRUCKS
good or bad. I do not make the
law. That prerogative lies rightly
with the legislature. If the legis
lature should subsequently
change the law, I will enforce
that change. If the courts should
reject the interpretation of our
legal department and the attor
ney general, I shall follow the ,
court's interpretation. Until such
time as the legislature does
change the law, or the courts
rule contrary to our position, I
shall continue to enforce the law
as it presently provides, without
reference to person, class or lo
cality, who wish it to read oth- v
erwise.
I trust that this letter has fully
explained my position. If it fails
in that regard in any way, please -do
not hesitate to write me 'fur
ther. Very truly yours,
. Samuel B. Stewart, '
Commissioner.
Swimming Pool Has
Zoo Along Shore
Louisville, Ky. (U.R) An ex
convict, John C. Maas, who
loves animals, runs one of the
few swimming pools in the coun
try with a built-in zoo on Its
shore. X
Maas' zoo boasts a lioness,
bear cubs and. monkeys because
of the study he made of animals
while a prisoner at La Grange
State Reformatory. He purchas
ed most of the animals for $200
from a "small but hungry zoo"
going out of business in Ft
Wayne, Ind. . - .
Patrons of his swimming pool
stroll around the zoo anea be
tween dips in the pooL Maas
hopes to add to his animal col
lection and someday to present
it to the city, which lacks a
zoo. At present, Maas Is looking
for a bargain in an elephant or
tiger cub.
ASHLAND 2127!
4.
Dealers eH