, 1879-02-23
REVENUE.
Defects of the Illinois: Systen''"
Various Amendments
Suggested.
Report Of Elliott Anthony to the
Bar Association.

Report Of Elliott Anthony to the
| Bar Association.
Some time ago, and before the General AS
sembly convened, q Committee OF the Bar Asso-
citation was appointed to investigate the Gen
eral Revenue law OF this State, with q view OF
seeing what should, In their judgment, bc done
to improve that law. The matter has .bccn de-
laycd from time to time, owing to the absence
Of yarious members Of the Committee. Finally
4 subcommittee was appointed, with Elliott
Anthony as Chairman That gentleman has
| drawn up a report, which Is both elaborate and
the result of long md patient research, and
contains many suggestions Of interest to the
members Of the General Assembly who are now
engaged upon that subject.
. The report is, in substance, that the revenue
system Of Illinois is substantially the one which
has been in force since the State was admitted
into the Union. It's great central idea is that
! taxes should be
LEVIED BY VALUATION,
so that every person should pay tar in proper
tion to the value Of his property. The system
which covers personal as we'll rs real property
would at first seem to be based upon correct
principles, and ought to result IN justice. But
| cording to valuation seldom produces. either
equality or uniformity, and often works the
greatest injustice because OF the inequalities in
| assessments, and because personal property
taxes are seldom collected, and in the end all
| lost or uncollected taxes are saddled upon real
| estate. Everywhere under the system Of levy
| ing taxes according to the value Of property
! real estate suffers. In New York they have
| system somewhat similar to the Illinois one,
| and almost every Comptroller from 1849 to date
| las called attention to the discrimination in
favor ofpersoual property as against real estate
The Revenue law Of Illinois was designed to
| ing to escape, whether tangible or intangible,
real or personal. It is In many respects harsh
and oppressive, and destitute OF every
benign feature that characterizcs the
evsed sas Msssqai It is not aw 70 ano s
| turing corporations, aud Furnishes with severe
penalties ull wealth which may be added to the
soil. It works great hardship to the owner o.
unimproycd and unproductivc lands, because II
the Assessor places even moderate valuation
upon them, the owner viii be sacrificed unless
he possesses resources outside Of them to meet
the demands made upon them.
NO MERCY Is SHOWN THE WIDOW
who has an interest in her husbands lands she
having to pay taxes upon the full value OF the
land or being guilty OF permssive waste.
have been utterly ruined IN this way.
AL unproductiVe real-estate OF orphans Is
sure to be sacrificed unless they are left with
ready cash to Pay taxes IN MassachuscttS the
exempt from taxation the estate of persons ua-
able to pay. In this State, too, there Is no ex-
cinption OF real Or personal property owned By
a1,y individual whatsoever.
IN tic older Governments OF Europe it has
long bcen demonstrated that to place oil the
burdens on real estate without regard to rental
value is wrong anu extrayaganf, and has
been abandoned. The system Of licensing
corporations and associations and taxing
trades, businesses, professions, and incomes
more universally prevails than in this country.
Pennsylvania has n,iKcd system OF licensing
income taxes. taxes OH dividends, euoluments
of office, md different classes of business, the
workings Of which are fully explained in the
report.
Greater fees, it is thought, should be charged
By the State for authorizing the formation OF
corporations for pecuniary profit and for allow
ing foreign corporations to do business in the
State.
II the present Illinois system is retained, it
should be
AMENDED IN IMPORTANT PARTICULARS.
Real estate should be assessed but once every
tiye years.
4 Commissioner Of Taxes should be elected
for four years in every county in the State Per-
sonal property should be assessed annually, ind
collected as soon as the tux is laid, 90 per cent
OF personal taxes being lost by delay in collec-
tious.
There is at present too much machinery in
le7ylng and collecting taxes. In this county the
number OF books used yearly is III Assessors
books, With $50 pages each; 12o Collectors
books, with t75 pages each; 81 Town and County
Collectors delinquent warrants, with 800 each; |
II Judgment records, With 300 each; 80 sale rec
ortls with 275 each; and 90 Of errors and abatc-
ments, with AGO each, making 430 volumes, with |
total cost OF s24,7G0 while the expense OF |
lrts~ $Cf
$4,000. This expenditure can be stopped at |
once. |
The people are not suffering SO much from |
State taxation as from county, city, village, |
der that the people have been able for the last |
ten years to ocar the burdens imposed on them. |
There are too many taxing Boards for the public
good. In many Of the cities and suburban |
confiscation Of largs quantities Of real estate, I
but no power short of Omnipotencc seems able t
to restrain the authorities.
The Legislature should set bounds to the rate |
Of taxation in every single instance, und hold
the officers OF every municipality accountable,
They should mike ..
ANNUAL REPORTS
showing how much money they had approDri-
ated, the amount OF taxes and assessments
levied, how much collected, and how appropri-
ated. II such reports could be made yearly.
the people would know what had become Of |
their money, and habits OF economy would be
induced. There now exists no central office
where the requisite Indignation eau be obtained.
In New York they have three State As
SCISSORS who devote their entire time to the
subject. They might with profit take the place
OF The present Board Of Equalization, or the
Board might be done away with, aud the Gov
crnor, Auditor, and Secretary Of State SUBJ
Stiturcd.
To devise just and equitable system of tax
alton is work OF time, and can only be accom-
pltshcd BY experts, or those thoroughly ac