Page Sixteen 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



February f 1932 



m 



Lower Assessments Save 

 $1,500,000 in Farnn Taxes 



Huge Losses in Farm Values Make 



*31 a Busy Year for County 



Tax Committees 



LARGELY as a result of the efforts 

 of County Farm Bureau tax com- 

 mittees, marked reductions were made 

 in the assessed valuations of farm prop- 

 erty during 1931, saving Illinois farm- 

 ers approximately $1,500,000, as com- 

 pared with what they would have paid 

 under 1930 assessments, John C. "Wat- 

 son, director of taxation for the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association, showed in his 

 annual report released to delegates and 

 members at Rockford last week. 



Mr. Watson estimates that farm prop- 

 erty will pay about $6,500,000 less in 

 all taxes on the 1931 valuations than 

 it would have paid if assessments had 

 remained unchanged since 1920. 



"Excluding Cook county, for which 

 no information is yet available, valua- 

 tions of lands and improvements as as- 

 sessed for county and local purposes in 

 1931, decreased $268,286,5 85, or nearly 

 16 per cent," the report states. "It is 

 impossible to separate assessments of 

 farm lands from assessments of lands 

 used for other purposes, but it is certain 

 that nearly all the decrease in valuation 

 noted above was made in farm lands. 



Personal Property Lower 



"Farm personal property also reflected 

 in its assessments the huge losses in val- 

 ues suffered in 1930 and early 1931. 

 Excluding Cook county, all personal 

 property assessments decreased a total 

 of $142,805,843, or more than 23 per 

 cent of the assessments of such prop- 

 erty in 1930. It may be conservatively 

 estimated that at least 40 per cent of 

 the total reduction was in the valua- 

 tions of farm personal property. 



"There can be no doubt that taxes on 

 farm property have been substantially 

 reduced by decreases in the 1931 valua- 

 tions. The effect is most clearly seen 

 in taxes for state purposes. If the high 

 valuations of 1920 had remained un- 

 changed relative to other assessments, 

 farm property would have paid about 

 $8,951,000 in state taxes in 1931. If 

 the 1930 valuations had remained un- 

 changed relative to other assessments, 

 farm property would have paid $6,634,- 

 000 in state taxes on 1931 assessments. 

 With the changes in 1931 assessments, 

 farm property will pay about $5,776,- 

 000 in state taxes on 1931 assessments. 



Tax Cut for State Purposes 



"The cut of $3,175,000 in taxes on 

 the 1931 valuations as compared with 

 the amount that would have been paid 

 on the 1920 valuations is due entirely 



to the adjustment in valuations. The 

 cut of $858,000 in taxes on 1931 val- 

 uations, as compared with the amount 

 payable on the 1930 valuations, is due 

 to a similar adjustment. 



"The effect of changes In county and 

 local valuations in taxes charged against 

 property could easily be computed for 

 any taxing district in the same manner, 

 but it is difiEcult to estimate the effect 

 in all county and local taxing districts. 

 There can be no doubt, however, that 

 relative decreases in valuations of farm 

 property tend to produce the same effect 

 on taxes for county and local purposes 

 as they do for state purposes. 



"On the basis of previous tests of the 

 effect of decreases in valuations on the 

 amount of county and local taxes 

 charged, the I. A. A. estimates that 

 farm property will pay a total amount 

 of $6,500,000 less on all taxes on the 

 1931 valuations than would have been 

 paid if valuations had remained the 

 same as in 1920, and at least $1,500,000 

 less than it would paid if valuations 

 had remained the same as in 1930." 



Sen. Cuthbertson Urges 

 Support of Income Tax 



McLean County Annual Meeting 



Reveals Many Farm Bureau 



ccomplishments in 1931 



Farm Equipment Men 



Back the Farm Board 



i^QlNCE our last convention the press 

 O of the country has been flooded 

 with propaganda hostile to the Federal 

 Farm Board, including vicious and 

 groundless attacks upon the board and 

 the government. The source and the 

 purpose of this propaganda are obvious 

 and unmistakable. The attacks come 

 from a limited group of speculators and 

 middlemen who have long fattened on 

 the proceeds of agriculture without 

 benefit to either the producer or the 

 consumer; and their manifest purpose 

 is to destroy the agricultural marketing 

 act or so to cripple it that the Amer- 

 ican farmer will be denied government 

 aid in regulating and distributing his 

 products. 



"At the next session of congress, and 

 perhaps thereafter, concerted and well- 

 financed efforts will undoubtedly be 

 made to repeal or emasculate the agri- 

 cultural marketing act or to tie the 

 hands of the farm board. Therefore, 

 be it 



"Resolved, That we call upon all mem- 

 bers in both houses of congress, and 

 especially those from the agricultural 

 states and areas, and upon the repre- 

 sentatives of farmer organizations to 

 make a vigorous resistance to this de- 

 structive campaign, so that whatever 

 amendment may be made to the agri- 

 cultural marketing act shall be written 

 for the benefit of agriculture, and not 

 to its detriment and injury." Resolution 

 passed by National Association of Farm 

 Equipment Manufacturers. 



AS. CUTHBERTSON, state senator 

 • from Macoupin county, speaking 

 before 1,3 50 farmers at the annual din- 

 ner of the McLean County Farm Bu- 

 reau, January 7, commended the work 

 of the Illinois Agricultural Association 

 in behalf of a state income tax and 

 urged united support of the proposed 

 measure. 



The speaker said that the state con- 

 tinues to use a taxing system that was 

 in force back in 

 18 50, despite tre- 

 mendous increases in 

 population and in 

 the burden of taxa- 

 tion and despite the 

 fact that tangible 

 property no longer 

 represents ability to 

 pax taxes. 



The McLean 

 - o ^ *»... * "^ County Farm Bureau 



A. S. CnthbeTtson , <, ... 



and Its auxiliary 

 enterprises reported the following items 

 of co-operative business transacted in 

 1931: ^. :■.:■: \^.-y' '. „ : , r, ■ ■:':" ;,--;' 



McLean Service Company 



The McLean County Service Com- 

 pany had 2,500 patrons during the year. 

 Its net profit was $61,483, and patron- 

 age refunds were $49,613, averaging 

 $29.85 for each of the 1,670 Farm Bu- 

 reau member patrons. 



The Producers' market had 56 mar- 

 ket days in 1931. The average amount 

 of sales per market day was $820.98 

 and the total sales for the year were 

 $45,974.89. 



Hog cholera serum and virus totaling 

 two million cubic centimeters was used 

 by Farm Bureau members at a saving 

 of $5,000. 



The cream pools at Bloomington, 

 Chenoa and Bellflower handled 175,000 

 pounds of butterf at. Co-operative grain 

 and livestock marketing also received 

 considerable attention in the county. 



Life insurance business for 1931 was 

 $452,000 bringing the total Country 

 Life life insurance in force in the county 

 to $1,750,000. Total automobile in- 

 surance policies in McLean county in 

 the Agricultural Mutual number 1,189, 

 which is exceeded by only one county 

 in the state. Hail insurance for 1931 was 

 $80,530. Fire insurance was $83,553, 

 windstorm insurance $64,150. Nineteen 

 new employers' liability policies were 

 written during the year, making a total 

 of 172 for the county. ... , v ; 





.".* 



