New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-04-23
ALBANY.
rur rrG1sIArrrRE AND rHE TAx-PAYERs.

i
REFORM MEASURES FOR TIKI MORE JUST AS7f7'-
MEST AND COLLECTION or TAXEs-Ho" THE
STATE Is ROBBED-rIg REYORM BILLS DESIlNHN
To BIZ DEFEATED.
lFRoM REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF III" IN
AInAxy. Anril 2s.-The Senate had under DISCUS
sion last night a very Important Diii ~ ~. AZ
the assessment and collection OF taxes py INC
terms of this BILL which was introduced ny oen"'oi
Lord and stands No. 246 the Senate nles all prop
erty il liable 10 taxation. except w property eA-
empted by the Constitution OF the state OF Inat Vi
tbe limited States, belonging 10 the state OF 10
tbo Iuited States 81 land set apart and used for
cemeterv purposes; 81 property exempted by law
froro execution. No deduction shall be made from
Tho valuation of property account of debts. and
ali laws heretofore passed creating exemptions from
tavation are repealed. The attn section of the BILL
which provides for n great departure from the ex-
;sting mode Of assessment, reads as follows:
SIC 10 shall be- the duty Of each taxable nhabtant
in the several towns ana wards OF TINS stare on or pc
assessors thereof, one OF them srcOrn statement
s@ s,eh person spee0ng he same and he paiue thereof
The O such list and statement shall be furnished
as may be necessary the fun taxation OF all the
property the State False swearing 20 any essen
tal tact i'm such statement shall be perjury and pun
ished by imprsonment the state Prison for period
not exceeding two years, or by hne not exceeding
5000, or by both such fine and Imprisonment
son, liable to taxation, neglect refuse to make
statement his property shall be assessed at double
it, value. The eighth section of the bill makes it
the duty of assessors to value property at less
than the valuation set down the statements,
but authorizes an increase of the amounts stated
as TO make the assessed value of all property nearly
equal and uniform possible. If any assessor shall
knowingly undervalue any property, he shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor, and be liable to SIX
months Imprisonment in the county jail, or a fine
not exceeding 81 600 or to both fine and imprlson-
rnent. The bill is entitled L" An act TO amend the
Revised Statutes in relation to the assessment and
collection of taxes II has not yet passed the
Senate
The necessity Of some reform in the mode of as
sessing property in this State must be conceded by
every one who has the slightest knowledge of the
practices now prevalent Personal property escapes
taxation almost altogether. Real estate IS valued
in different counties all the way from p to 90 per
cent of its true value. 1t is assessed higher IN the
Cities of New York and Brooklyn than in the rest Of
the State. The City Of New-York now pays one-half
the entire tax collected by the State The law,
however, requires all property, both real and per
sonal TO be assessed at its full value the same
would be appraised in payment of just debt due
from solvent debtor" For years no assessor has
dared TO make such assessment.
Another reform measure closely connected with
this subject is Senate bill No. $50, entitled An act
to secure greater certainty and uniformity IN the
collection and payment of State taxes 1t was IN
troduced on the eth of February by Mr.. D. p Wood.
The object of the bill is to compel all the County
Treasures to pay the taxes collected for the
state TO the Controller, one-haf the LIST of May
and the remainder before the 1st of August On
all moneys withheld after the 1st Of May or 1st Of
August interest must be paid by the counties at the
rate Of eight per cent BY the present law the taxes
from most of the counties are payable by the
lst Of April, but it is the practice of
many County Treasurers to hold them back.
1t is left to the Controllers discretion to demand
prompt payment whereas it should be obligatory
for him to exact the moneys. BY special laws, Snug
ged through the Legislature at various times, the
taxes from the City of NowYOrk are not due to the
State until the LIST of December and those from Erie
and Albany Counties not until the 1st Of August and
September. From this state Of things two great
evils have arisen. % The State has had TO pay
hundreds of thousands OF dollars every year as IN
terest temporary loans This interest is capital
lied and aas now grown into deficiency of mil
lions ~ The County Treasurers withhold and
use the money of the State for their private
benefit, lending it TO banks and other borrowers
and pOcketing the interest. No sooner was the bill
ef Mr.. Wood introduced than the lobbyists here at
the Capitol sent warning circulars to all the County
Treasures, and the consequence Is that fund was
collected and the bill is destined to be beaten in the
Assembly. This is the common report, and the fate
Of the bill. which has passed the Senate, will show
how much truth there is in the prognostcation.
Mr. Lords bill. for the remedy of taxpayers, will
probably share the same fate The truth is that the
Legislature has neither the ability nor the integ-
rity nor the courage to EIdppe with these abuses.
The evils have grown from year to year, until they
are now truly monstrOus.
LATFR.-Senator Lords bill to amend the revised
statutes relative to the assessment OF taxes was
thrown ont this evening after discussion which
occupied the whole session. Nothing new was de-
veloped by the debate. The third section, which
forbids any deduction from the value of an indi-
viduals property on account Of indebtedness, was
struck out on motion of Mr. Benedict. Those who
favored the bill believed that farer and more
equal valuation could be obtained by means Of
sworn statements from citizens subject to taxation
than by the estimates made by assessors under the
present system. Mr.. Madden Thought the existing
evils resulted from the fact that the assessors
who valued the property obtained their offices by
the votes of those whose property they assessed.
The method proposed by the bill was even worse.
Mr. Murphy objected 10 the taxation of personal
property, and said that it impossible by any
legislation make personal property pay the same
taxes rs real estate. Mr.. James Wood preferred the
bill submitted by Mr.. David A. Wells in his last
port, to that now before the Senate, but would
rather have Mr. Lords bill than the present vicious
system. Alr. Lord said the bill he proposed had
worked well in Ohio and other States The
New-YOrk Senators, except Mr.. OBrien, who was
absent, were all opposed to the
The bill, on motion of Mr. j. Wood was laid on