Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-03-08

OO8rU OF r0VlSlOu ua0 EoGuIuou al
amount which did not represent more
than one tenth of that sum. The board
had levied to the extent Of S27 ,412, 198
upon trusts and estates which are ad.
ministered mainly in the interests
of women and children !; it had levied
81, 827, ,475 upon women and $13, Psi, ,8ll |
upon men. The forty-two assessors OF the |
city had been able to find only zoos men,
324 women and 268 trustees and estates
which held money at interest-an average
of 81 taxable persons for each assessor in |
population of 848, $50. The assessors
found only one person in $50 who had
money at interest. They found an aver
age of one taxable for every lawyer and
conveyancer who places money on invest
pent. They made the Seventh, Eighth, |
Ninth, Tenth and Twenty-second wards
bear the city's burden, and made the Phil.
adeIphia savings fund, which partakes OF
the nature of public benefactiop, pay
one ninth of the total tax against the city.
In tho first six wards, with a population OF
1876 900, the tax assessors returned only
81 persons as taxable for money at inter.
est.
sixty-six Million Dollars Ignored.
Between the list of January, 1879, and
the list of January, 1882, there were sixty
six millions of dollars placed at interest on
mortgage but the board of revision could
OILY add one million to the fourty- four
millions returned in 1879. In the vaults
of one concern (the Fidelity trust and safe
deposit company it has been stated that
securities valued at eight hundred million
dOllais are stored but the board OF
revision seems to have overlooked such a
trifling matter.
Under a peculiar construction of the act
of 1881, taxing "all mortgages etc,
the board of revision has exempted niEe
trust companies from the tax so that
they can loan money at lower rates than
individuals, aud thereby make greater
profits. The board decided that as these
companies paid taxes on capital stock and
on net earnings they were not required to
pay what might be called a double tax by
returning money at interest. The effect
of this decision was that one company
which should pay s33, 600 on its money at
interest now pays only Sc, 600 as tax on
capital stock. By paying $40, 600 three Of
the companies are freed from the imposi.
ton of tax which would amount to S71,-
600 if the taxable property was held by an
individual. Practically, the board of re.
vision makes the dollar of the corparate
money-lender worth seven cents more
than the dollar of that individual money
lender who pays his tax and honestly
strives to live up to the obligations OF
citizenship.
Depressing IndividuaIs and Favoring Cor
pOratiOns.
Tho board has neglected to assess jarge
classes of the community which are taxa
BILE under the law. 1t has levied upon
some corporations belonging to the class
known in tax parlance as corporations
without stock, and it has exempted or
failed to assess many ether corporations
coming under precisely the same view Of
the enactment 1t has oppressed those
individuals who do respect the laws by
neglecting to make the tax assessments
full and complete.
The board has ignored the facilities
which the public records afford for ascer-
tanning the amount of taxable property
liable to state taxation. Upon few women
and children and q comparative handful
of taxpaying citizens it has imposed the
burdens of the entire city, because full
and complete assessment of moneys at in
terest would work such large increase
of revenue as would warrant the state in
reducing the rate Instead of levying a
tax of 4 mills on the dollar, the state could
reduce it to mill, and obtain three times
the amount now returned.
Pocketing tho States Taxes.
Nearly every mortgage on record in
Philadelphia requires that the person bor-
rowing the money shall pay all taxes and
charges In many cases the tax is paid by
the borrower, but the money does not
reach the state treasury because, except
in comparatively few cases, the lender
pockets the tax with his interest money
and the state is robbed.
One instance is known in which trust
company charged mortgage for state
tax but, having previously been exempt
ed from payment by the board of revision,
the company neglected to return the
money to the payer and presumably pock-
cted it.
For the purpose of testing the extent of
the neglect of the tax assessors it was de
cided to select list of names from a repre-
sentative body of citizens, composed of
men whose high position in business
circles and in the public estimate would
fairly reflect the general practice. The
Committee of One Hundred was chosen as
example. From twenty nine names of
persons who appear on the books of the
recorder of deeds as holding unsatis6ed
mortgages only i've had been returned by
he tax assessor as possessing money at
interest.
Sworn Returns That We're False.
The sworn returns by the board of re-
vision of property taxable for state pur
poses have been false and misleading. The
board sent one set of figures to the state
authorities and put other amounts on the
tax duplicates tor collection. During the
past twelve years the board of revision
has levied a tax upon twenty-five million
dollars of money at interest, of which it
gave no account to the state, nor would
this fact have been disclosed at any time
had not the city editor of the Record
probed into the subject and exposed this
glaring discrepancy, as we'll as the conver-
sion of $28. 120 of state money into the
city treasury without warrant of law. A
formal demand has been made by the au-
ditor general for the latter sum.
MAIL MISCELLANY.
Condensed From tho Morning dispatches.
The assistant secretary of the interior
yesterday received dispatch saying that
about two hundred settlers recently in
vaded that part of the Sioux reservation
which lies east of the Missouri river and
put up shanties there also that thousands
OF others are preparing to follow. The