PART 5. THE PROPERTY TAX: COLLECTION AND 
CONTENTS 
Page Page 
Introduction ss 222222 8 SS ee ee ee a 151 | Tax delinquency—Continued. 
Paxacollection) 233 2042 31 ee 151 Relative delinquency of forest and other 
Statutory procedure____________________- 151 Kealestatew yk Ae Ley See eee eee 
Collecting procedure in practice______-_-_- 159 Reversion of delinquent lands_._--_-.-.. 179 
Taxrdelinguencys.-2-22 see ee EE 162 Causes of delinquency_____-____---------- 185 
Delinitions:= sakes! ass sees See ee Es 162 Effects of delinquency...-.----.-.------- 193 
Trend in tax delinquency_...---______-- 16S CONCIUSIONS ae se ae een ee ee i 195 
INTRODUCTION 
The final step in the administration of the property tax is the collec- 
tion of the tax. This is in the hands of the tax collector, who has not 
previously been concerned with the determination of the amount of 
the tax. The procedure in collecting taxes and handling delinquency 
will first be discussed generally, following which a sample calendar of 
procedure will be given for a typical State. 
In general, methods of administering and enforcing the tax-collec- 
tion provisions of the property tax become a problem only when they 
fail of their purpose and taxes become delinquent. Therefore this 
part will be chiefly concerned with the problem of tax delinquency 
with special reference to forests. Such questions as the following 
arise: How extensive is tax delinquency, and what have been the 
trends? What are the causes of tax delinquency? Is forest land— 
especially cut-over forest land—more subject to delinquency than 
other classes of real property? Does this land become delinquent 
because of discriminatory taxation? In what States has there been 
extensive reversion of land to public ownership through delinquency? 
What are the effects of delinquency and reversion on the revenues of 
local government and on political organization in sparsely settled 
areas? It is not possible, from the data which have been assembled, 
to answer all these questions fully and precisely, but it is possible to 
throw considerable light on this important aspect of the forest-tax 
problem. 
TAX COLLECTION 
STATUTORY PROCEDURE 
THE TAX COLLECTOR 
The machinery of tax administration is constantly being altered, so 
that no tabulation long remains correct; the enumerations given here 
are in accordance with a digest published in 1930 (38) and, while 
probably no longer strictly accurate, are not greatly out of date. 
151 
