Morning journal and courier., 1883-08-04
TAXATION IN NEW HAVEN

During the last three decades the growth
 of the city has been constant and very rapid.
 In 1850 it's population was g, 5S9. It is now supposed to be somewhere in the neighbor- hood of 70, GOO. The rate of increase of tax able property in the city during this period l has been more than double that of the in
 crease of the population: In 1850 the as-
 sessed value of taxable property in New Ha- ven was $7 ,368. to6. According to the list
 of 1882 it is $48, 1885, ,6S2. Notwithstanding this great increase in the amount of taxable property, the rate of taxation has steadily
 risen- Ofcourse, as the ciEy grows, more money is required to run it's government The taxes will be greater in amount, but the rate of taxation should be less. Let us sup pose that the present rate of two cents on a dollar remains fixed for the next thirty
 years, and that during that time the popula-
 tlon of the city and it's grandlist are doubled.
 The revenue derived from taxation will be
 twice as much as now, but the necessary ex- penses of the city government ought to be
 good deal less than twice as much An in- crease in the population and property does not increase the necessary expenses of gov
 ernment in the same proportion. The fate of taxation, therefore, instead of becoming greater, ought to become less Of course it will occur to readers that the actual experience of cities is just the reverse. It is certainly true of most American cities that the rate of taxation has constant ly and decid- edly increased with their growth. It is not true, however, of cities in the old world
 And 1t is absurd to suppose that here the in crease in tue rate is due to similar increase in the necessary public expense. It would,
 for instance. be manifest absurdity to sup pose that it must cost fifty per cent. more to govern city of fifteen thousand inhabitants
 than to govern one of ten thousand, or
 hundred per cent. moro to govern one of twenty thousand than one of ten thousand. The increase of the rate of taxation in
 American cities is due to change in the character of the population rather than to 8
 proportional increase in. their necessary ex-
 penses. very large element of the city populations is politically thrift less. Wants are anticipated long before they
 are felt. Streets are paved, sewers laid and
 buildings erected years before they are
 needed. In many instances the interest of
 the money invested that would have accrued
 by the time the improvements were needed
 would pay the cost of construction. Let us
 take the proposed boulevards for instance.
 It is estimated that it will cost noF less than $209,9OO. It will not be needed as a boulevard for twenty years to come
 The interest of the money invested
 would in that time more than pay for it.
 The secret of the high rate of taxation in
 American cities is that the present generation
 of taxpayers is very largely bearing the bur- dens that should be borne by the next gener-
 stion. Somehow men acting collectively do, not seem to realize that city. no more
 than an individual, ought to provide itself
 with luxuries before it can afford them, and 1t cannot afford them until it can pay for
 them by taxation that issnot burlensome. We do not say that a public want should never be anticipated. It often happens that an improvement can be made much more
 eheaply at present than a future time.
 Bat in general wants should not be antfoi-
 pated- The city should keep within the rs
 sources yielded by fair rate of taxation.
 We think the rate of taxation should never exceed fifteen mills. This rate,. with the
 rapid increase of taxable property, would SSs "AA @ASspasAEy e&QeuSes B20 1e1FS1 sum. clent nargihsto make Improvements as fast as they would be needed.
 The rate of taxation cannot continue to advance as it has in the past. Either taxa tion must stop growing or ths city must. Two cents on dollar is but little short of 8 rate that would render investmentsszin New Haven, property wholly proftless, and 1t is Itself crate which if continued will render | them hnAttfaotive. Business enterprise is not likely to select city for it's location
 where two per cent. of it's capital u.ili be ab- sorbed by taxation. A short Hns since a capitalist who purposed to build . factory
 visited New Haven. among other cfties. in search of a location. He expressed a decided preference for this city and had substantially made up his mind to build here, but on learn ing our rate of taxation changed his mind and went. Within the last week i've gentle men have told the writer that they should