Reclassed 4. 20-29 MV p 5 To His Excellency, FRANK B. WEEKS, Governor: SIR: It is provided in Section 2414 of the General Statutes, that the tax commissioner "shall make a biennial report to the governor in which he shall mention any imperfections he may think proper to bring to the notice of the general assembly, and from time to time may suggest any further statutory provisions which he may deem desirable." Pursuant to such requirement, I have the honor to submit the following report: NEW LEGISLATION. The acts relative to local and state taxation, passed by the legislature of 1909, on the whole, have proved to be practical and definitely beneficial both to taxation officials and to the general taxpayers. Terms of office of assessors. The most important change was that making the term of office of assessors three years, one being elected each year. This has already shown good results in the different towns in the improved work of these officials, who have also shown a very greatly increased interest and sense of responsibility. Taxation of tangible property of nonresidents. The act providing for the taxation of certain tangible property of nonresidents has given the towns the benefit of the tax on this property, some of which has heretofore escaped taxation entirely. Valuation of land and buildings separately. The repeal of the clause which permitted land, not exceeding two acres, to be included in the valuation of a dwelling house, has removed a cause for great lack of uniformity in the administration of this statute, and has also included for taxation land in many towns which has heretofore escaped entirely. Personal tax. The abolition of the historic poll and military commutation taxes, and the substitution of the personal tax, which has been urged for nearly a decade, is a decided advance in our taxation procedure. It removes the inconsistency of requiring one dollar from some persons and two dollars from others, all of which was very difficult to explain to many. It provides more practical methods of enrolment and collection. It removes the incentive to keep down the number enrolled because of the liability for a payment to the State on the same, for the bill bases the payment for the support of the militia upon the grand lists of the towns rather than on the number enrolled for military duty. Quadrennial publication of exempted property. The requirement of a quadrennial publication of the value of the exempted property in the State will forcibly call to the attention of the legislators the extent to which such a procedure has gone, and the vast amount of such property which now is excluded from the taxable lists of the different towns. State tax. The imposition of the state tax on the towns' lists for 1908 and 1909, as corrected by the Board of Equalization, has restored a form of tax which had not been in operation in this State for nineteen years, and transcends the theory that the State and local revenues should be derived from separate sources. On the other hand, it has apparently brought home to the taxpayers of the towns, and to the legislators, the evident fact that all expenditures of the State should be carefully watched, and that the taxpayers themselves are individually liable for their proportion. Succession tax. The change in the succession tax law, increasing the rates and reducing the exemptions, will result in a largely increased revenue from this source. BOARD OF EQUALIZATION. The tax commissioner is required by the statutes to report annually to the Board of Equalization "the result of his official inquiries," relating to the taxing conditions in the different towns in the State. In accordance therewith, there was submitted tabulated sheets for each county for the lists of 1908 and 1909, giving information regarding the assessed valuations in each town, including reports from the assessors, boards of relief, selectmen, and other persons, giving their opinions of the percentage of assessed valuation to fair market value, together with the percentage of increase in the towns' grand lists, as compared with the previous year. In the reports on the list of 1909, the assessors of fifty-four towns, or thirty-two per cent. of the towns in the State, claimed an assessed valuation of one hundred per cent.; ninety-six towns • claimed between seventy-five per cent. and one hundred per cent. ; seventeen towns claimed between fifty and seventy-five per cent.; and one town was frank enough to admit a valuation below the fifty per cent. basis. Attention is called to the fact that although the last legislature imposed a state tax, a large number of the towns since that time have materially increased their grand lists, and in several, this has amounted to an actual revaluation of all the property by personal inspection, and further, that in all towns where a complete revaluation had been made, the addition to the grand list had exceeded the addition which had been previously made by the Board of Equalization. During the biennial period the following towns made a complete or partial revaluation of all their real estate, thus materially increasing their grand lists: Canton, East Granby, New Britain, North Haven, Wallingford, Ashford, Plymouth, Clinton, Essex, Haddam, Portland, Bolton, Woodbridge, Lebanon, Waterford, Stratford, Scotland, Hampton, Morris, Thomaston, Watertown, Stafford, Hartland, Simsbury, Bethany, Madison, and Milford. There have been very few evidences of dissatisfaction with the additions made by the Board of Equalization to the towns' lists. In nearly every case where it was claimed that an injustice had been done, a further investigation by the town officials and the tax commissioner has resulted in strengthening the opinion that the addition was not too great in comparison with the additions that were made to the lists of the other towns in the State. ADDITIONS BY BOARD OF EQUALIZATION. Additions were made by the Board to the assessment lists of one hundred and fifty-nine towns on the 1908 lists. The grand list of 1908, as returned by the towns, was $770,599,592.00. The Board added $151,472,000.00. The grand list of the State for 1908, with these additions as shown by the table on page 120, was $922,071,592.00, which was an increase of ten and two-fifths per cent. over that of the previous year. Additions were made to the assessment lists of one hundred and thirty-two towns on the grand list of 1909, the total being $128,607,000.00. The grand list as returned by the towns was $837,022,807.00. The state grand list, including the additions for 1909, was $965,629,807.00, an increase of $43,558,215.00, or four and seven-tenths per cent. over that of the previous year. In 1909 there were only nine towns to whose list no addition was made, as follows: Ansonia, Bethel, Essex, Newington, Norfolk, • North Haven, Suffield, Thomaston, and Watertown. In 1910 the list of no additions was increased to thirty-six. This was due to the action of the towns themselves in placing a new and more equalized valuation on the taxable property, more nearly in accordance with the fair value requirement of the statute. The taxable lists of all the towns with the additions by the Board of Equalization on the grand lists of 1908 and 1909, may be found on pages 120 to 155. The following bulletin was issued by the Board June 10, 1910: "The additions which the Board has made to the lists have been done after considering definite information from taxing officials, the results of a personal investigation, or other competent testimony. This action has not been taken so much to increase the total grand list of the State, as to prevent so far as possible the penalizing of those towns which have voluntarily placed their lists on a fair value basis. "As heretofore, it has been necessary to make some additions because of an acknowledged lower percentage of assessment on certain special property, although an effort is made to keep the general property on a fair value basis. "The Board is more impressed than ever with the desirability of a revaluation of all the property in the towns at least once in five years, which would be a definite business advantage to the community, and would result in a higher list, fewer inequalities, a lower tax rate, and a reasonable conformity with the statutory provision which requires property to be listed at its fair market value. "It is hoped that a large number of the other towns will decide that it is to their advantage to follow the good example set by the towns that have recently revalued." The rate of taxation in the different towns in the State varies from seven mills in Norfolk to twenty-six mills, including the district tax for school purposes. The average tax rate throughout the State is thirteen mills. Following is a list of the towns whose tax rates were decreased as the result of an increase of fifteen per cent. and over in the 1908 grand list: Following is a list of the towns whose tax rates were decreased as the result of an increase of fifteen per cent. or more in the 1909 grand lists: |