REPORT State of Michigan, Office of the Board of State Tax Commissioners, To the Honorable Fred M. Warner, Governor of Michigan: In compliance with the provisions of law, we herewith submit to you the Fourth Report of the Board of State Tax Commissioners, covering their work for the years 1905 and 1906. WELLS G. BROWN, Secretary. LAWS. The three former reports of this commission have exhaustively treated the laws and amendments by virtue of which the commission operated previous to September 15, 1905, and it is perhaps best at this time to confine ourselves to a brief statement of the amendments to the law approved June 16, 1905, and of the efforts of the commission to operate under the provisions of the same. Said amendments are to be found in sections 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 152, 153 and 154 of Act No. 281, Public Acts of 1905, and are as follows: "Section 145. It shall be the duty of the Governor on the first day of November, nineteen hundred five, to appoint three resident freeholders of this State, who shall be duly qualified electors thereof, and who shall hereafter constitute a Board of State Tax Commissioners, with powers and duties as prescribed under this act, one of whom so appointed shall hold office until the first Wednesday in January, 1909, one of whom so appointed shall hold office until the first Wednesday in January, 1911, and one of whom so appointed shall hold office until the first Wednesday in January, 1913, and until their successors shall have been appointed and shall have qualified. Thereafter the successors of each member of said Board of State Tax Commissioners shall be appointed by the Governor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall hold office for the term of six years and until their successors shall have been appointed and qualified. The persons who now constitute the Board of State Tax Commissioners under appointments heretofore made shall continue to hold their office until the first day of November, 1905, and until their successors shall have been appointed and qualified. All appointments which are provided to be made by the Governor under this section of this act, except in the first instance, shall be made while the legislature is in session, and not at any other time, except in cases where a vacancy in office shall occur otherwise than by the expiration of the term of office of any member of said board. In case a vacancy in the office occurs otherwise than by expiration of the term, the Governor shall have power to appoint to fill such vacancy at any time, and the person so appointed shall hold office until the next meeting of the legislature after such appointment, and no longer. "Section 146. Said board shall elect a secretary at a salary not to exceed two thousand dollars per annum, and a chief clerk at a salary not to exceed one thousand five hundred dollars per annum. The persons so elected shall hold their office during the pleasure of said board. The secretary shall keep a record of all the proceedings of said board, which records, with all other papers or proceedings of said board, shall be a part of the records of the Auditor General's office, and of which the Auditor General shall be the lawful custodian. The secretary shall devote all his time to the duties of his office, and when said board is not in session shall perform such duties as may have been assigned to him by said board. The chief clerk shall devote all his time to the duties of his office and shall perform such duties as may be assigned to him by said board. "Section 147. The members of said board, and the secretary and chief clerk thereof, shall take and subscribe the constitutional oath of office to be filed with the Secretary of State. The members of said board shall receive an annual salary of two thousand five hundred dollars; and they shall also receive their necessary expenses in the performance of their duties, both to be audited and allowed by the Board of State Auditors, and paid monthly by the State Treasurer out of the general fund. "Section 148. All sessions of said board shall be held at the office of said board at the capitol, to be furnished by the Board of State Auditors. The said board and the members thereof, shall have access to all books, papers, documents, statements and accounts on file or of record in any of the departments of State, subject to the rules and regulations of the respective departments relative to the care of the public records. It shall have like access to all books, papers, documents, statements and accounts on file or of record in counties, townships and municipalities. Said board shall have the right to subpoena witnesses upon a subpoena signed by the president of the said board, and attested by the secretary thereof, directed to such witnesses, and which subpoena may be served by any person authorized to serve subpoenas from courts of record in this State, and the attendance of witnesses may be compelled by attachment to be issued by any circuit court in the State upon proper showing that such witness has been properly subpoenaed and has refused to obey such subpoena. The person serving such subpoena shall receive the same compensation now allowed to sheriffs and other officers for serving subpoenas. Said board shall have power to examine witnesses under oath, said oath to be administered by any member of said board or by the secretary thereof. Said board shall have the right to examine books, papers or accounts of any corporation, firm or individual owning property liable to assessment for taxes, general or specific, under the laws of this State, and any officer or stockholder of any such corporation, any member of any such firm, or any person or persons who shall refuse to permit said inspection, or neglect or fail to appear before said board in response to its subpoena, or testify, as provided for in this section, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in the State prison for a period not exceeding two years, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. "Section 149. Said board shall hold regular meetings on the first Tuesday of March, June, July, August, September and October in each year, and may hold adjourned sessions as may be deemed necessary by it for the proper performance of the duties devolving upon said board. The chairman may call special sessions of the board whenever he may deem it advisable so to do, and shall call such special sessions upon the written request of two members. "Section 150. First, it shall be the duty of said board to receive all complaints as to property liable to taxation that has not been assessed, or that has been fraudulently or improperly assessed, and to investigate the same, and to take such proceedings as will correct the irregularity complained of, if any is found to exist; Second, To see that each county in the State be visited by at least one member of the board as often as once in each year, to the end that all complaints concerning assessments may be heard; that information concerning such assessments may be collected; Third, To require from any officer in this State, on forms prescribed by said Board of State Tax Commissioners, such annual or other reports as shall enable said Board of State Tax Commissioners to ascertain the assessed values and equalized values of all property listed for taxation throughout the State under this act; the amount of taxes assessed, collected and returned and such other matter as the board may require, to the end that it may have complete statistical information as to the practical operation of this act; Fourth, It shall be the duty of said Board of Tax Commissioners each year to ascertain and determine the actual cash value of the taxable property of each county in this State and to be present at each meeting of the State Board of Equalization and to present to said board the result of such inquiry and determination for the purpose of assisting said board in the performance of the duties imposed upon it by law. "Section 152. After the various assessment rolls required to be made under this act shall have been passed upon by the several boards of review, and prior to the meeting of the board of supervisors in October of each year, the said several assessment rolls in the State shall be subject to inspetion by said Board of State Tax Commissioners, or by any member thereof; and in case it shall appear, or be made to appear, by written complaint of any taxpayer residing in the assessment district, to said board that property subject to taxation has been omitted from said roll, or individual assessments have not been made in compliance with law, the said board may issue an order, directing the assessor whose assessment or failure to assess is complained against, to appear with his assessment roll at a time and place to be stated in |