New Hampshire REPORT. CONCORD, N. H., November 2, 1914. CHAPTER 1. A YEAR'S WORK. The labors of the tax commission during the present year, though they have been somewhat more arduous than before, have not differed greatly in character from those heretofore reported. The superior court has referred to it numerous petitions, arising in the different counties, for the abatement of taxes. Some of these have been heard and determined; some have been adjusted through the good offices of the commission and some are still pending,-the last awaiting the convenience of the parties for hearings. In the report for 1911 at page 46 it is said, "The commission was established for the benefit and service of assessors rather than as a body to seek for faults and mete out punishment, and it invites the fullest coöption on the part of all assessors in attaining the comm f nd of full compliance with the law." This invitation has never been accepted with as little reserve as during this ir. It would be interesting to know how many of the seven hundred and odd assessors in the state have called at the office in the state house, or upon the commissioners elsewhere for conference and counsel. It is safe to say a large majority has done so. To all assistance has been freely rendered, except in those instances where the requests were for valuations of specific pieces of property. In such cases the correct method has been explained and the result left with the local officials where it belongs. 3 For the accommodation of people in some of the lower counties an office was opened in the spring and has since been maintained, without expense to the state, in the Amoskeag Bank Building in Manchester. It has proved a convenience to many whose route would otherwise lie through that city and to many who go there primarily on private business. This office has also been used for hearings. The people in the upper counties have in a large degree been accommodated at Lancaster, and the long trip to Concord rendered unnecessary in many instances. In December the commission attended the two days' conference of the New England State Tax Officials at the State House in Boston. Many subjects relating to taxation were discussed by the members and by others who were invited to participate. On the twenty-first and twenty-second days of January the Association of New Hampshire Assessors, of which the commissioners are members, was in session at Manchester. It was an educational meeting. Assessors from nearly all of the cities and selectmen from all sections of the state were in attendance. The matters discussed were in the main those that pertain to the assessment of taxes as a practical proposition. Papers were read, addresses delivered, notes compared, methods explained and experiences related. Nothing could be more encouraging than to see the assembled tax officials of the state engaged in working out their common problems. Beginning with the Thursday after the annual town meetings in March tax conferences were held successively in Concord, Keene, Claremont, Lebanon, Woodsville, Plymouth, Laconia, Berlin, Colebrook, Ossipee, Dover, Portsmouth and Manchester. These meetings were attended by more than nine tenths of all the assessing officers in the state, and a surprisingly large number took part in the discussions. It is believed that the local assessors are now much more familiar with their duties than at any previous time. April first was completed for the most part in about three months, and altogether in four. Meanwhile the commission was attending to its duties of supervision. It has previously prepared and distributed inventory blanks in the new form required by the legislation of 1913. As the inventories were returned by the cities and towns they were accepted and the results tabulated, or they were returned for correction or reappraisal as circumstances demanded. In July blank returns were sent by the commission to 227 public service corporations, and in September, upon investigation, it was found that 180 of them were taxable here. Their property, after hearing those that desired to be heard including most of the larger concerns, was assessed accordingly. Then followed several re-hearings, some of which resulted in a partial abatement of taxes and some of which did not. Then came the preparation of the matter for this report and the supervision of its publication. Throughout the year the commission has endeavored to answer all inquiries received by mail, a task of no small magnitude and requiring in many cases much research. Conferences have been held in many of the cities and towns with the assessing officers and the tax payers affected by their action. Much field work has been done in the different sections of the state. This has generally been performed by the commissioners themselves or by one or two of them, and consequently very little extra expense has been incurred. The commission has thus been enabled to live well within its means, as will appear from an examination of the following table: EXPENSES OF COMMISSION. September 1, 1913, to September 1, 1914. Salaries $8,000.00 |