The Portland daily press., 1871-04-01
PORTLAND.

Local 1aX6tAOms
The report of David A. Wells to the New
York Legislature on local taxation has direct
ed an unusual degree Of public attention to
the monstrous Inequalities in the taxation of
personal property. 1t will be remembered
that the difficulty in obtaining fair valuation
of personal property, and in fact of obtaining
any valuation at all of large part OF
1t, strikes Mr.. Wells. and his associates
as so formidable and almost insuperable that
they earnestly recommend the abandonment
of that source of revenue. In some parts of
Europe, and even in some of the American
States, taxes are levied upon real estate alone
The certainty of finding real property makes
the matter of taxing it comparatively a simple
one, as any one may see who notices how few
Of the forty odd pages of complex provisions
relating to taxation in our new Revised Stat
utes Bakers edition) are devoted to the lat
ter kind OF property, and bow many to NOV
ables. But the valuation Of property accord
Ing to uniform and equitable principles Is un-
fortunately matter of so much difficulty tnat
even real estate is subject to the uncer'
far as it is the subjsct of State taxation in
Maine. the constitution itself undertakes to
provide for its equitable valuation by section
eighth of the ninth article, which provides
that "all taxes upon real estate, assessed BY
authority of this State, shall be apportioned
and assessed equally, according to the just
salae thereof" 1t also provides that for the
purposes of State taxation "a general valua
ton shall be taken at least once in ten years."
But while the State prescribes Uniform ba
sis for valuation, namely, the true value OF
real property, and provides TOR its seasonabIe
corrections, the different municipalities OF
Maine in ieyyfng upon property tor their own
purposes proceed without reference to the
State valuation or 10 the principles on which
the valuation of other towns is founded
They are as independent OF the State and OF
each other as If they were sep,ra nations.
While it is not absolutely essential that the
valuation of property for local taxation should
be Uniform throughout the State, or that il
should he assimiated TO the State valuation,
justice does require that within the limits OF
any given municipality there should be as lit
tie variation as possible from fixed standard
in determining the value of property. To
this end it is an obvious necessity that all To-
cal valuations should be thoroughly revised al
least once in ten years. The assessors of course
make additions to their lists annually, and
make such changes as seem most obviously
necessary, but in city Of SO great population
and wealth as Portland the revision should be
made once in ten years according to some
comprehensive plan that may afford an ade-
quate remedy for such inequalities as have
resulted from the general appreciation or de-
probation of certain kinds of property, as
well as those arising from special changes in
valae. 1t is now eleven years since the vaua-
ton Of this city has been subjected to thor
eugh revision. In the last City Council a
proposition to appoint a committee for this
purpose made considerable progress, but it
was finally abandoned. The same matter is
now under consideration by the City Govern
ment We hope there will be no further de.
lay. We are told that inequalities of start
ling nature exist 10 consequence of which
citizens are taxed exorbitantly to the great
advantageof others who pay only small part
Of what is rightfully dne. Between 1880 and
1870, according TO the valuation taken by the
State the property Of Portland increased from
eighteen to almost to thirty million dollars
The fire occurred meanwhile, and other
changes OF great Importance have taken place
making it singular anomaly that no cores
pondingly radical changes in the valuation
lists Of this city should, have been xlade.