JULT 25, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



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ASSESSMENT. 



FOR TAXATION 



INEQUALITY OF TAXATION. 



In the spring issues of the Review 

 each year, while the assessor is making 

 his rounds, there appear letters relating 

 to the inequality of assessments, not only 

 as between adjoining states, but as be- 

 tween adjacent counties and even town- 

 ships. The following letter was recently 

 received : 



As I know the Review Is always ready to 

 help to adjust any grievance that the smaller 

 growers may have, I should like you to answer 

 this question: Are greenhouses assessable? If 

 so, to what amount can they be assessed? 



I have five and one-half acres of land, horse, 

 stable and about 27,000 square feet of glass, on 

 which the assessor here has assessed me $17,000. 

 This Is more than the full valuation of the 

 glass at the present time, or any other time, for 

 that matter. I have appealed to the county 

 commissioners and, while I expect a reduction, 

 I hardly expect my assessment to come down to 

 a figure I call fair. Some growers I have writ- 

 ten to are not assessed at all; others but very 

 little. One grower states his honest belief is 

 that greenhouses are not assessable, and that he 

 is willing to go Into a combination of grov^ers 

 and fight the matter through to the supreme 

 court. I should like to have the Review's opin- 

 ion on this matter. 



This is, of course, an extreme case, 

 but it brought, among others, the fol- 

 lowing expressions of opinion: 



In Iowa. 



In regard to taxation of greenhouses 

 and stock, I should like to say what I 

 think about it for the state of Iowa. 



The date of levy is January 1. Farm- 

 ers are exempt from taxation on all the 

 farm produce grown the year previous, 

 also on $300 worth of farm machinery. 

 Now, as all, or nearly all, stock grown 

 by commercial florists is only of one 

 year's growth, I claim it just as much 

 exempt from taxation as the farmers' 

 produce. Also I claim $300 exemption 

 on machinery and heating apparatus, 

 which are, in other words, the tools we 

 use to raise our crops. 



The foregoing exemptions I have al- 

 ways claimed, and gotten. The law 

 surely cannot exempt the farmer from 

 the payment of taxes on all the stuff 

 he grows on his farm without also grant- 

 ing to the greenhouse man the same ex- 

 emption on all the stuff grown on his 

 farm, even if it is under glass, and I 

 believe any court in the state will sus- 

 tain this opinion. 



In regard to real estate, etc., the law 

 says: "All property shall be subject 

 to taxation at its actual value and shall 

 be assessed at twenty-five per cent of 

 such actual value. ' ' The actual value 

 of a piece of property is what it would 

 sell for on the market for cash, and 

 greenhouses are not always very salable. 



The boards of review of our cities and 

 towns are nearly always composed of 

 men of business capacity, and if the mat- 

 ter is put before them and explained in 

 a gentlemanly ancl business-like way 

 they will seldom be unjust, because a 

 first-class greenhouse establishment is a 

 benefit to any town.JOHN Beimford. 



In Ohio. 



As to taxes on greenhouses, the Ohio 

 law taxes us umder the head of mer- 



chant; that is, on the amount of money 

 actually invested. The land is so much 

 per acre, the buildings so much on each 

 one, or on all. In the case of a new 

 structure, its value is added when the 

 assessor makes the assessment. This 

 valuation stands until the next regular 

 decennial appraisement, which is in 1910. 



To find out what is invested, a record 

 must be kept of stock on hand, pur- 

 chased and sold, less profit. After esti- 

 mating the balance of stock on hand 

 each month, the monthly balances must 

 be added together at the end of the tax 

 year, and the total must be divided by 

 the number of months, in order to find 



Of course every state has different 

 rules for taxing. The Ohio laws are not 

 fully lived up to. We poor fellows have 

 to pay for what we have, and that is in 

 sight and can't be avoided. But if the 

 same money were invested in railroad or 

 any other stock wo would not pay any. 

 It seems as if the $17,000 man referred 

 to in the Review of May 23 must have 

 an establishment larger than any I know 

 of in Ohio or the assessor has it in for 

 him or does not know his business. 



It is my belief that greenhouse stock 

 should not be assessed for one-half its 

 value, and I think if the question were 

 agitated we could be included in the 

 free list, that is, we would pay on the 

 buildings and crockery only. There is 

 no law in Ohio that could compel us to 

 pay any more. J. F. SpED. 



I have in Ohio greenhouses and stock 

 worth at least $1,500, but I pay no taxes 

 on same. W. C. Scovell. 



In Michigan. 



I read an article in the Review of 

 May 23 in regard to taxes on green- 



David Rust. 



(Superintendent of the Trades Display at the S. A. F. Convention at Philadelphia, August 20 to 23.) 



the average value of the stock during 

 the year. 



For seven years I have made the 

 rounds as assessor at this place, and find 

 the assessor must be a man of judgment 

 and must not try to drive business out 

 of his community. Our tax rate is four 

 and one-half percent, besides a special 

 street assessment, which is $1.74 per 

 front foot, payable in ten yearly in- 

 stallments. It is rather uphill work 

 when one has to pay four and one-half 

 per cent tax, but I find it profitable 

 nevertheless. 



houses. I will give you a little expe- 

 rience I had with the assessor. I am 

 located inside the corporate limits. Our 

 city has a board of assessors composed 

 of five members, one new member being 

 appointed or reappointed every year by 

 tlip mayor and confirmed by the common 

 council. About five years ago they got 

 a new member on the board who in- 

 sisted that florists should pay a tax on 

 their stock. The assessors make a new 

 roll in March every year and send out 

 blanks to all persons who, they think, 

 should pay personal taxes. This blank 



