New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-07-10
AN ACCOUNT FOR TAXES.

"A contemporary presents taOleau Ol
tax account in the case of certain piece
of property in this city, which has been
variously valued at $4,000 and $4,000.
The statement goes back as far as 1867,
| and closes with the sale by the sheriff on
the twenty fourth of June for $4,000.
This is done to show the devastating
effects on property of assessing it for
purposes Of assisting to bear the burdens of
government, and the whole is Of course
charged up to the Radicals. But the
insight which is thus given into the
affairs of the proprietor enables US to see
at glance that he managed his affairs
very badly and finally lost his property
chiefly through his want of business
capacity. During the six years included in
the tableau, the total assessments for city
and State purposes foot up s1651 40, but
the proprietor neglected every year to pay
at the proper time, and thus incurred
costs and penalties amounting to S1OO2 S.,
which might have easily been saved. He
can not charge upon others the conse-
quences Of his own negligence. In 1867,
for instance, when the city government
was administered by Democrats, the tax
was assessed at S44 IS, but he permitted
penalties to accrue to the amount of S66 SO,
which went to the assistant city attorney,
the sheriff, clerks of court, etc. This
course was uniformly pursued till finally
the property was seized and sold for taxes,
when it realized only $4,000. We have
no acquaintance with the property or the
owner, and can only judge of the merits of
the case from the er parte showing of the
journalist, who seems to be sort of ad-
vocate for him. We think it highly
probable, however, that if the delinquent
has been as backward in paying the just
claims of private parties as be has in pay
ing his taxes, he has contributed hand
somely to the support of the rather large
army of clerks, deputy sherifs and others
who make their living off people who are
in the habit of discharging their obliga-
tons at the butt end of an execution.
The low price for which the property
sold was Influenced by the consideration,
probably, that a tax title is not usually
understood to be as good as voluntary
warranty. This idea is an erroneous one,
but it exists, nevertheless, and delinquent
taxpayers are made to suffer for it. Be-
sides, property that has been the subject
OF dispute and litigationfor several years is
liable to depreciation for various and OBJ
vious reasons. The capitalist who. is
seeking investment for his money natu-
rally feels prejudice against property
upon which the owner has been unable to
make enough to pay taxes and can not be
induced to offer as full prices as he would
for more popular descriptions. Besides
this, the tax resisting organs have gene
rally discouraged bidding at tax sales.
Competition is thus crippled, and those
who attend the sales are enabled to take
things at their own price. As no one ap-
peared who was willing to give more than
$4,000, and the lucky bidder obstinately
refused to raise his own offer, the estate
passed out of the hands of him who had
shown his inability to keep it, and was
received on the terms Of probation which
attend all tax sales by the new purchaser.
It furthermore shows that nearly one
the penalties were imposed by the city.
During the period covered by the state
ment, the Democrats had control of the
municipal administration fully half the
time. In those years, too. the taxes were
quite as high, and the penalties as rigidly
enforced, as they we're in the years Of the