, 1877-03-17
THE COLLECTION OF BACK TAXES.

The City Of Chicago leYied tnxes for the
support Of the City Government and the
payment Of interest for the years 1878 aud
1874. There never was any preteuse tha:
these taxes were levied for an unlawful OBJ
ject, or that the 1evies wera unfair, discrim-
inating, or unjust. Certain property-hold-
ers, having other uses for money, clubbed
together, employed counsel, and interposed
objections to the collection of these taxes,
hoping to gain year or two Of time, if not
to defeat the collection Of the tax altogether.
To the surprise Of the city and Of the Tux
fighters themselves, the Supreme Court de-
cided that. Of the two laws then on the stat
ute book under which city taxes might be
levied and collected, the law under which
the city had acted was void. The Court did
not object to the legality Of the tax, nor the
legality Of the objects for which it was
levied, but that the form Of levy adopted by
the city WAS void, and with it the tar itself
fell to the ground. OF the aggregate taxes
levied for those years, about so per cent
have been voluntarily paid, leaving 20 per
cent unpaid; the aggregate tax being merely
equal to covering the appropriations and the
expenditures made for those years, there was
necessarily d Iefcit in the City Treasury
equal to the sum Of the taxes lost. That
deficit has been ever since represented by
city notes bearing interest, aud which can
not he paid except ont Of the proceeds Of
the taxes Of those years. The sum is in ex~
cess of two millions of dollars. On this sum
the city pays annually q large amount Of
money inpeyment of interest
The question has arisen, how this debt,
representing unpaid taxes, is to be paid, and
by whom. Shall tile owners Of so per cent
Of the property in the city who paid their
taxes in full be reassessed TO pay the taxes
due by the owners of the other 20 per cent
of the property? Shall those who paid the
city 100 cents on the dollar Of their taxes
levied for those years be now required to pay
20 cents on the dollar additional, to pay the
taxes of those who have not paid any taxes
Whatever for those years? The debt is due;
tie city is prohibited by law from borrowing
the money to pay it; there is no law
authorizing the city to re~levy the
tax on the delinquent property. The
city, therefore, has asked the enactment of
law authorizing, substantially, that the prop
erty which has not paid this tax be reas-
seased for the amount to cover this lost reve-
nue.. Morally and equitab1y no possible OBJ
jcction can be made to this measure. It inn
poses no burden except on the property
which has avoided payment Of taxes con-
fessedly Just and fair. The sum due is about
equal to the whole levy for interest on the
bonded debt Of the city for the time covered
by the lost taxes.
But the gentry who have enjoyed this
s., ,000, 600 and more Of the public revenue,
aud who insist upon having their taxes paid
by other persons, have taken alarm ut the
request for such remedial Inv, and COM
bining have employed strong legal force,
including some Of the largest tax-fghtcrs,
and are flooding Springfield with objections
backed by legal opinions to the enactment
Of any such measure Of Justice and equity.
Some Of these objections are:
!. That, under the operation Of the law,
the whole tax for 1873 and 1874 is to be re-
levied, and each piece of property which
paid the taxes for these years-all of which
is b matter of record-w;u be credited with
the sum paid; but if, in tile readjustment of
the taxes, the new tax be so cents or ST
more than the former payment, then the
property may be sold and lost to the owner,
and it may require the 'spoor man" to en-
ploy ia lawyer at cost of one or two hun
dred dollars " to remove the cloud. The
answer to this objection is, that the people
who paid their taxes are under no apprehen-
s1ons OF this kind; their tax-receipts, or tie
record that the tax for 1873 and 1874 Fas
paid, will be an all-suticient discharge for
them against any demand by the city. Even
if there be rather improbable addition of
so cents or 81, they will cheerfu1ly pay it
rather than pay their proporionate share Of
the s., 5oo, 900 Of other peoples taxes at
tempted to be settled upon them. The only
~ III.