Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 77, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 December 1919 — GENERAL AND STATE NEWS [ARTICLE]

GENERAL AND STATE NEWS

Telegraphic Reports From Many Parts of the Country. SHORT BITS OF THE UNUSUAL Happenings in the Nearby. Cities aud Towns—Matters *of Minor Mention From Many Localities. WHITING SUIT DECISION MADE Gary Judge Holds State Tax Law Invalid in Part. Gary, Dec. 19. —Charles E. Green* wald, judge of the s Lake county superior court here, decided yester* day that the new Indiana state tax law is invalid, insofar as It purports to give authority to the state board of tax commissioners to revise or cut down tax levies made by cquntles, cities, school govern* meats, library boards and other taxing bodies. The court ordered George M. Poland, county auditor,, to revise the tax for the city of Whiting, Lake county, to correspond with the tax rate originally adopted by the Whiting city council. The council adopted a levy of $1.32, which rate the state board of taxation cut to 57 cents. The city, in a suit filed in the court, contended that the state board, of taxation had mo authority to cut the rate adopted by that city and asked that the county auditor be ordered to revise the tax book of Whiting to corre* spond with the levy fixed by the city council. Ele fitansbury, attorney-general, and W. C, Nusbaum, state commismissioner, of Indianapolis, represented the state tax board at the beartag. City' Attorney Hall of Whiting represented that city. In announcing his ruling in favor of the plaintiff, Judge Greenwald Maid: ‘‘There is not a man on the tax commission who can come up here to Gary, Hobart or other cities and determine the proper levy. And 1 do not believe the legislature intended they should.” If the ruling of Judge Greenwald is sustained by the Indiana supreme court, every taxing body in Lake county will institute similar proceedings, it is said. In order to make up the deficit In revenues caused by the cutting of the school tax levy In Gary the local board of education has been compelled to Issue $205,000 worth of bonds, while the city of Gary, Itself, will shortly issue $85,000 worth of bonds.