The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1885-02-08
TAXING THE CORPORATIONS
THE DIFFICULTIES THE STATE asses
SORS HAVE ENC0UN1ERED.


How the Standard OH and Adams Ex-
press Companies are Exempt Under
the Lava Newspaper Certiol aries.
TRENTON, February THE collection OF
the taxes from the railroads is but one
branch of the duty of the State Tax Board.
An equally important branch is the collec-
ton of the taxes under the new tax law
from the thousands of corporations deriv-
| ing their existence from the laws of this
State that have no relations to railroads
as for instance foreign corporations that
have organized under our laws to escape
tax upon their stock; and private local COR
| porations and miscellaneous local corpora
! tons Of countless kiuds.
| "When we come to this branch of our
| work. said Secretary John L. Van Cleef ito
| your correspondent the other evening, "we
found we had task equal in magnitude
to the taxation of the railroads and canals
on our hands. In the first place, the only
source of information as to what corpora
| tions were doing business within the State
was the record of those corporations that
had filed their articles of incorporation IN
the Secretary of States Office, and it was
not unnatural to assume that this was
perfect and complete list; but when it is
| said that the Board has included in its tax
! levy over 500 corporations, of which there
is absolutely no record in the Secretary of
| States Office the great task which lay be-
fore the Board AMI the thorouphness of its
work at once becomes apparent. In order
to get at these corporations, Of which the
| Secretary of States Office had no record,
| the Board had searches instituted in the
County Clerks Office of every county in the
| State In all notices have been sent to up
ward of 5000 corporations, record of only
! $500 of which was found in Mr.. Kelsey's
Office. Of these 5000 corporations about
| 1000 have responded to the demand of the
Board for return, and of the number
that have responded about ], 200 have been
found to be either exempt under the law
or defunct. The 1000 corporations from
which no returns have been received the
Board proposes to levy tax on the best
information they have-1-10 of per cent
on their capital stock. The Board has
levied tax amounting in all, to about
5000, 200, and of this amount more
than $4,000 has already been paid,
and lit is only a question of q
short time before every dollar will be PAL !
| into the state treasury Under the law all
gas companies, electric light companies,
express companies, and palace car COM
panies are taxable on gross receipts, all
other companies are taxable Ito of one
per cent on capital stock except insurance
| companies incorporated in the state, which
are taxed one per cent on their suplus, and
the same kind of companies not incorpof-
| ated under our laws but transacting bust
ness within the state, which are taxed two
| per cent on premiums. All mutual aid as
sociations, land, loan and cemetery compan-
les are exempt. The largest tax levied is
that against the Newark .Mutnais Benefit
1 Life Insurance Company which is assessed
$31. 270.2 %. The American Glucose Com
| pany is most gigantic enterr-ise. It
manufactures in five different states and
was incorporated under the New Jersey
! laws simply and solely because up to the
| time of the passage of the miscellaneous
Corporations Act, there was no tax in the
state on that class of corporations This
company has an authorised capital of
| Sis 900 900 for $13. 225. 600 of which stock
has been issued. 1t now pays the second
| largest corporation tax in the state,
| $l3.225. The smallest tax levied by the
State Board is 15c on the National Jersey
| Red Swine Breeders Associations Capital
i of $3.50. The Treasurer about three weeks
ago received check for the amount of this
tax. The gas light companies are quite a
large source of revenue to the state Under
the act all incorporated printing companies
| and news papers are taxed. It is fact
worthy of note that, out of all the large
| numbers OF corporations that the State
Board has brought within its jurisdiction
! the only ones that have certioraried are
the Evening journal Association and the
Jersey City Printing Company which Is
really creature of the former. The tax
levied against the first is SCI, on capital
ization of S2l.0O0 and against the last
named company SIS, on capital of SIS 600.
! The journal has certioraried for the pur-
pose of testing the question whether or not
they are a manufacturing company en-
| ploying labor within the state. That they
employ LABOR nobody, of course, will deny
but the board claims that they are not a
manufacturing company in any sense of
| the tern. Tue Journal people claim that
they are manufacturing company in the
sense that they manufacture news paper.
The large number of wealthy corpora
| tions doing business in New York which
have come to New Jersey to incorporate,
for the purpose of eyading State tax, is
surprising. For instance, the New Jersey
| Steam boat Company, more commonly
known as the peoples Line" have up 10
this time escaped the payment Of State
tax This company has capital OF
| 81, 000, 900, from which the annual revenue
to the State hereafter will be 50, 000 Star
/ ms City, River and Han Dor Transportation
| Company have also organized in this
State. Their ideas of capital, however,
were very moderate, and the State treasury
will be augmented by 500 only, annually,
on their capital of 100000.
The assessors were very much disap.
pointed at their inability to bring the
Standard Oil Company within their Jun IS.
diction. Ins Standard has three corpora.
lions within itself. A very large amount
of its business is transacted through its ISIS.
ser lights, The National Transit Company
and the National Storage Company. Ii is
true that these two companies are taxed
under tbs law, but the revenue from them
is not nearly SO large as would be the reye
nue. from the Standard Company proper
were it not exempt under the law. The
law was intended to apply particularly &c
the Standard Company bat failed in its
purposes, as the Standard Oil Company
proper only manufactures oil products
4 and, doing it as they do. strictly within tbs
State, they are exempt from taxation
Another company doing bushes in New
York, but organized in this State, which
has heretofore escaped State tax is the
Iron Steamboat Company. 1t must here
after pay 1900 annually on s., 00O, 600 o.
capital.
The State Board was very much disap
pointed also at not beng able to touch til.
Adams Express Company, for while it hal
issued stock it is q private business con
cern-neyer having filed any articles OF in
corporation. Il is a peculiar factthat ever
the stockholders Of this company have al
ways supposed it to be an organized stool