State

Our Richest and Poorest Counties Tax rates ami valuations are de¬ ceptive yardsticks of the tax posi¬ tion of most North Carolinians. «!/ BILL SHARPE An old remedy for the toothache was to hit the sufferer over the head with a hammer. The new pain, ac¬ cording to this mirthless prescription, would make the patient forget the old. Something like that has happened to the once active concern of North Carolinians over county taxes. Faced with breath-taking federal tax bills, local levies seem almost puny. After dropping sharply during and following the depression, then leveling off, county tax rates show a slight, upward trend. In 1950, 20 counties decreased their tax rates, and 31 coun¬ ties increased them. Since 1940, the overall picture shows a rather steady climb. And tax authorities think more increases are due in the next two or three years. More Services Little explanation for the trend is required. Much of the reduction back in the 30's came about when the state and federal governments look over, or partly assumed, some functions of lo¬ cal government — such as schools, roads, correctional institutions, wel¬ fare. Now some of these services are being supplemented by local efforts again, and new services are being in¬ stalled. And, of course, there has been an increase in costs all along the line. But to look along a list of counties with their tax rates is a very unsatis¬ factory way to compare the tax posi¬ tion of a North Carolinian. What might seem to be a killing tax rate ac¬ tually may be a very moderate one — and vice versa. Largest Income Forsyth has the largest income from taxes in North Carolina but the low¬ est tax rate. Pamlico has the highest tax rate in the state, yet only four counties have a smaller tax income. Now, add 98 more counties, stir in different scales of property evaluation, and help yourself to some confusion. The rate in Forsyth is 60 cents per SI 00 in property valuation, and it was applied in 1951 on a total levy of $457,757,671. In Pamlico, the rate is S2.20 per SI 00 and the tax levy last year amounted to $5, 169,2 10. One item which made the Forsyth cash register ring so merrily was a leaf tobacco inventory worth $230,104,- 050. And the reason Pamlico's tax rate has been pushed so high is the fact that the last revaluation of prop¬ erty in that county occurred in 1919. Mecklenburg ranks third in total taxable property with S287, 7 19,435 tabulated in 1951 on a tax rate of SI. 02. Mecklenburg right now is spending more than $300,000 for a revaluation and probably will soon pass Guilford's S342, 175,232 on a tax rate of 98 cents, and may even ex¬ ceed Forsyth’s figure. Rounding out the top five counties arc Durham, with a 65 cents rate levied on $266,872,405. and Wake, collecting $174,573,864 on a rate of 80 cents. Durham's tax rate is the sec¬ ond lowest for the 100 counties, and Wake shares an 80 cents tax rate and a tie for the fourth lowest tax rate with Catawba. # Polk and Ashe counties, with a $2.10 rate, rank second to Pamlico for the high tax distinction. Next in order Forsyth's Courthouse arc Hyde. $2.05, and Greene and Camden, each $2. The mountain county of Clay had the smallest county taxable total, $3,- 025,049, and a tax rate of $1.50. One Method J. S. Currie, director of the Depart¬ ment of Tax Research, pointed out that high tax rates often mean that a county, instead of revaluing property at a figure closer to its real value, merely raises the rate. Pamlico car¬ ries property on the tax books at the same value as 33 years ago. Bun¬ combe County, with a $1.70 rate, es¬ timates what the property could have been reproduced for in 1933. adds 10 per cent, and enters that total on the tax books. In most of the cases where taxes have been cut, it has been due to upward revaluation. "For the state as a whole, the per¬ centage of market value at which property is listed for taxes is probably in the neighborhood of 35 per cent," Currie said. Currie thinks hospitals — the cost to the county in its share of building the hospitals, plus the cost of operat¬ ing them — arc largely responsible for increased tax rates. But the $50 million school bond issue probably ( Continued on page 19) HIE STATE, Vol- XX; No. 5. Entered a* second-class mailer, June 1, 1933. at the Postofllce at Raleigh, North Carolina, under Ihc act of March 3, 1*19. PubUshed by Sharpe Publishing Co., Inc., Lawyer* Bide., Raleigh. N. C. Copyright, 1952, by the Sharpe Publishing Co., Inc.