Jasper County Democrat, Volume 23, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 August 1920 — TAX BOARD HOLDS CLUB ON COUNTIES [ARTICLE]

TAX BOARD HOLDS CLUB ON COUNTIES

Goodrich Triumvirate Threatens Officials Who Endeavor to Protect Constituents From Arbitrary Increases. Indianapolis, Aug. 12. —The action of the state board of tax commlsaioners in applying horizontal increases to Shelby and Johnson counties, thus overriding the- decisions of the local boards of review, has revealed the much-discussed Tut-hill-Kiper measure in its true light. It is apparent that Evan B. Stotsenburg, formerly state attorney-general, was right when he called the bill “a fraud on the face of it.” Recent developments li! the muddled taxation situation show beyond peradventure of doubt that the Tut-hlll-Kiper measure, over which the house and senate deadlocked for several days, has clinched the victory for the administration forces who were bent on circumventing the decision of the supreme court declaring the horizontal Increases invalid. Although the passage of the measure was hailed as a compromise in which the senators opposed to centralization of power 'had scored a notable victory it is now realized that they were made the victims of a clever play manipulated by the followers of Governor Goodrich who meant to hold the vast authority of the tax board inviolate. • The boards of review of Shelby and Johnson counties certified to the tax board their decisions in cancelling the original horizontal increases. They did this in the face of a verbal warning from the board that they were “getting themselves into an awful mess.” Then the board, true to the prediction of Dewocratic assemblymen, slapped on horizontal Increases over the entire counties, taking the position that it has the authority to equalize in-ter-county valuations. The action taken by the state board is held here to be a warning to other county officials who mightbe inclined to tamper with the orig-

Inal Increases and it is said the commissioners hope It will serve to deter any one who might be tempted to exercise “home rule" under the provisions of the TuthillKiper measure. Although it was declared by the anti-administration Republicans that the bill had shorn the tax board of its arbitrary powers and Lieutenant Governor Edgar D. Bush was happy in the belief that he had successfully combated Goodrich centralization, the operation of the law, as administered by the tax board, is contrary to his expectations. The relief promised the Individual taxpayer Is a farce and the bill is, as was predicted all along, nothing more nor less than a carefully drafted document designed to estab llsh the ascendency of the adminis trative department over both the legislative and judicial, especially the latter.