The New York herald., 1862-03-12
Reduction of TaxatIOn-ImpOrtant Conn
munication frOnh the Comptroller.

Reduction or ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Conn
municatisn from the Comptvoiier.
We published yesterday morning COM
munication from the City Comptroller pro-
posing plan for the reduction of the
city taxes for the current year-not by re-
ducing the expenditures, bat by distributing
the payment of debts which are due In the
present year over longer period, which would
be great relief to real estate, which s now 10
be so severely burthened by the tax for the war;
at time when real estate is deprecated, anu
the rents of warehouses, stores and dwellings
must be reduced, from the inability OF the oc'
! cuPants to pay the former high rates. TAe
taxation on the city is fearfal-amOunting 70
twelve millions Of dollars, as much a. was NJ
cessary not very long ago to support the feds-
ral government Some easement of the pres
sure is absolutely necessary.
The Common Council has made.itself respon-
sible for two millions of dollars for the Union
Defence Fund and the families Of volunteers
ss follows
Union Defence Fund, payable lst of May.
voiuateers' Family Fund, Nc. i, payable
list Of July nSSy Find No aavsni
lst OF February, 1868. 6S.............s....6 100000
Total. 50 600 900
Ofthe first item $500 have been redeemed.
The remainder is due. 1t is proposed to post
pone the payment by the issue Of new boads,
redeemable November l, 1854; while it is re-
commended that the Volunteers Family Fund,
No. l, be paid, both interest and principal, by
taxes to be raised in the present year; and the
Volunteers Family Fund, No. 2, by taxes to be
raised in the year 1868. 1t is expected that the
State or general government will reimburse the
city to the extent at least of the million Defence
Fund. It ia, therefore deemed advisable to
postpone the payment of that item till 1864.
Most of our city readers are aware that there
are two sinking funds for the city debt-one
for the payment of the interest, which is
raised by taxation, and the other for the pay
ment of the principal, by the appropriation Of
specific revenue from the Croton water It
will be seen, from the tabular statement
of the Comptroller, that, in addition TO
the revenue set apart and specifically pledged
for the redemption of that portion of the city
debt payable from the Sinking Fund, the Cor
poration has voluntarily contributed several
years, in advance Of the maturity of any part Of
the debt, the sum of S4,582,2O5. The capital of
the Sinking Fund for the redemption of the
CITY debt, on the 3lst of December, 1861.
amounted to $6,256,S4 This amount with the
annual interest thereon and the ordinary reve-
nues of the fund, being ample to extinguish the
debt long before it becomes due, the Comptrol-
Ter recommends that application be made to the
Legislature for the adoption of law authoriz-
ing the Corporation to transfer the surplus
revenues to 'the general fund.-" and to deduct
from the estimates of the general expenditure
to the same amount.
1t will be observed that this proposition does
not touch the revenues of the Sinking Fund,
except so far as they are surplus, and therefore
does not violate the public faith in any
way, or do aught to depreciate the city Sc
curities, which have always stood so high in the
confidence Of the people. The object of the
measure, in view of the war taxes and the pre-
sent inability Of real estate to pay is to spread
the burthen over the future. What the Comp
troller proposes Is very good. But he does not
60 far enough. His plan does not go to the re-
duction of the expenditure. By the abolition
of sineeures, by the reduction of the appropria-
tions twenty-five per cent, and by doubling the
revenues, as might easily be done, the taxation
of the city could be reduced to one-half the
present figure. 1t has nearly quadrupled in the
last decade 1t ought to be reduced by atleast
four or FIVE millions during the present year.