FOREST TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES 83 
Duty or ASSESSOR 
The laws of all of the States excepting Wisconsin provide, as the 
very first step in the assessment procedure, that the taxpayer submit 
to the assessor a list of his taxable property. In Nebraska this 
provision of law applies only to personal property, and in New York 
only to corporations (37, pp. 1538-161; 50). In a majority of the 
States the law provides that, if the taxpayer fails to submit a list, 
the assessor shall list his property and add to the value a certain 
amount, varying from 5 percent in Mississippi to 300 percent in 
New Hampshire, the more common additions being 25 percent and 
50 percent. ‘The filing of lists by the taxpayer does not constitute 
assessment; such lists are merely information to aid the assessor. 
Making use of these lists and all other available information, it is the 
duty of the assessor to prepare what is usually called a ‘‘tax list”’, 
‘‘assessment roll’’, or ‘grand list’”’ covering all of the property within 
his district. This list is to contain the names of the property owners, 
a proper description of the property which they own or control, and 
the value of each property. In many States having the county- 
assessment system, the clerical work involved in listing property is 
done by an official other than the assessor, leaving the assessor the 
important duty of making the actual valuations. 
In making the valuations the assessor may or may not be aided by 
data furnished by the taxpayer. In any case the resulting assessment 
or valuation is intended to represent the personal judgment of the 
assessor. The State statutes often specifically provide that the 
assessor shall exercise his judgment. The laws of Washington pro- 
vide that the assessor shall value each property ‘‘at such price as he 
believes the same to be fairly worth in money at the time such assess- 
ment is made.’’!* The laws of Maine say that ‘‘the assessors shall 
ascertain, as nearly as may be, the nature, amount, and value of the 
estate, real and personal, for which in their judgment the owner is 
liable to be taxed . . .” (82, sec. 75, ch. 10, 1927, ».72). In Delaware 
and Wyoming also it is provided that the assessor’s judgment shall 
govern the assessed valuation (41, p. 27). The Supreme Court of 
Michigan has stated that— 
the listing of property is clerical, but the ascertaining and determining its 
value is judicial, requiring the judgment of the supervisor under his oath of office 
and cannot be dispensed with in making a valid assessment roll. 
In every case the legal assessment is the work of the assessor, who 
is responsible for determining the total value of property to be 
assessed to each taxpayer. The law generally gives the assessor 
ample power to demand all necessary information from the taxpayer 
or from other witnesses. 
In spite of these laws and court decisions, the assessor frequently 
shirks his duty of exercising judgment. Many instances of particu- 
larly incompetent assessors were found in the course of this investiga- 
tion. In one Minnesota township the assessor stated that he was 
simply copying the rolls of the previous assessor, that he was tired of 
the job, that everybody was hounding him for lower assessments, and 
that he was going to give it up. 
14 Washington Revenue Laws, 1926, pp. 61-62. 
18 Woodman v. Auditor General, 52 Mich. 30. 
