The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-04-26
ASSESSMENT AND TAXATION.


It cannot be denied that the greatest lnjus-
tice has resulted Iii tho past from the mlserably
defective system of q ssessment for purposes Of
taxation which has maintained In this State.
Tho State, not less than Individuals, has suf-
fered greatly In consequence. Individuals
owning certain kinds Of property. real estate,
both rural and urban, have had to bear the
most OnerOus burdens, and among them, by
reason of the lack Of system or uni
formity In regard to assessments taxa
ton has been most unequally distributed.
Heretofore there have been precisely MS
many rates Of assessment MS there have been
parishes, 1t was not possible for IL to be
otherwise, with I'M assessor for each parish,
to whose absolute discretion was loft the waltz
alton Of all the taxable property In his parish.
just and uniform taxation is simply impos-
sible under such circumstances nor can 1t
ever be otherwise until some system OF equal
izatlon Is established, and the assessment OF
property Ii no longer left dependent upon
the bias, and even the personal inter-
ests, of an indefinite number OF indi-
viduals. The present system, or rather
want Of system, 10 certainly produc-
having the same intrinsic and marketable
value pays twice and even thrice the tax In one
portion of the State that 1t does In another
One illustration of this fact is given us by q
gentleman through whose plantation runs
the dividing line between two parishes. All Of
his lands are OF the same quality and there Ii
no appreciable difference In the value OF those
lying In the one and the other parish; yet
In one parish his assessment Is exactly double
that In the other on the same quantity OF
land. Between city and country assessments
the difference 10, as rule even more exag-
gerated. But 1t Is not necessary to multiply
instances in order to prove statement SO
self-evident, and which must necessarily sub
sist SO long as the condition Of affairs which
neeessitates it Is allowed to remain undis-
turbed.
The remedy for this Is very simple. All
that is necessary Is to establish board OF
equalization for the whole State. under whose
direction the entire assessment of the State
shall be conducted. This can be done as we'll
by the Legislature as the Convention, though
we see no reason why some provision might
not be inserted in the constitution making
".
Another grave source of injustice, and it is
one for which it Is far more difficult to sup-
gest remedy, lies In the imperfect and in
efficient modes Of assessing personal prop
erty which have heretofore prevailed How
to assess and collect taxes on this species OF
property SO as to make capital invested in it
contribute its just proportion to the expenses
OF government, is problem of vast import
ance, which Is just now attracting the atten-
ton OF more than one Legislature. About all
that the Convention can contribute to the So
luton Of it IS to establish certain well-defined
and universally accepted fundamental princi-
pies, consisting in the main Of limita-
tons on the legislative power. In this re-
spect the provisions Of the Pennsylvania con-
stitution in regard to the powers of taxation
and the creation Of corporations furnish a
model which can be safely followed. These
consist OF certain absolute restrictions upon
the power OF the Legislature to exempt cor
porations, their franchises and property from
taxation; the prohibition OF such exemptions
under conditions that will impair the right OF
the State to revoke them at will; the con.
hnement Of corporate enterprises to the leg