Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 October 1900 — Tax Ferrets Legal [ARTICLE]

Tax Ferrets Legal

The Supreme Court has just rendered a decision in a “tax ! ferret” case, which clearly foreshadows what the same court’s de- ! oision will be in the similar case 1 now pending from this county, j The case is one in which the | city of Richmond hired ferrets j to find omitted or concealed property, for a compensation of 25 per | cent of all the additional tax they ' caused to be . collected. The principal point on which the circuit court here decided against the commissioners’ contract with the ferrets was that they had no right to hire anyone to do the duties enjoined by law upon the county auditor and other county officials. The decision thoroughly disposes of this objection by ruling that while these county officials are obliged to put omit-' ted property on the duplicate when found, they are not bound to search for such property. I In one important respect however, the contraot with the ferrets here differs from that at Richmond, and that is in the matter of compensation. The Richmond ferrets are to receive only 25 per cent while here the rate was 50 per cent. This was held to be exceesive by the circuit court and the the Supreme Court may take the same view. But in any case the general principle of the right to employ tax ferrets is now fully established.