Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-02-05
DELINQUENT TAXES.
A GOOD showing for n Prosper
Gus County.

A GOOD showing for n Prosper
Gus County.
The prosperity Of Los Angeles county
is well illustrated in the delinquent tax
list, which was published in the HERALD
a few days ago. As previously reported
in these columns. the levy for State and
county taxes aggregates $70S,0 900. When
the tax.collector's books were closed the
last Of December all Of this had been
paid excepting $4,000. Since that time
about $4,000 have come in, leaving
only $4,000 now outstanding. Daily
payments are being made, SO that by
the end Of the current month there will
hardly be more than $4,000 taxes for
which property is to be sold.
This is good showing as It stands
right there, but this is really short Of
half the truth. OF the taxes which will
be allowed 10 go delinquent finally,
fully two-thirds will be on personal
property, leaving a mere bagatelle Of
$4,000 delinquent taxes on realty. A
good deal of this, OF course, is
the property OF non-residents. Much
more OF it is the property which
has changed hands during the
Summer and Autumn, where there is
no definite understanding between the
buyer and seller as to who pays the
taxes. Each thinks the other has done
it.
Eliminate these two items and the
balance will be a mere tribe.
No,, ~, tha faxau mana Ialinnuaut
on personal property, great part OF 1t
is in small amounts of from few cents
to couple of dollars. Much OF II is ON
property of poor people which should
never have been levied. Such little bits
of household stuff should not be taxed.
Then again there is great deal OF un-
necessary complication in the collection
of this tax on personal property. 1t has
to be collected before the rate Is fixed,
the tax collector using the rate Of the
year before to get at an approximation
OF the amount due, The taxpayer gets
o receipt for this. and in u large
majority of cases In this class
he thinks this is is the end OF
the matter for that year. Then
Games the Board of Supervisors several
months later and fixes the rate. A
month or so later still the State Board
of Equalization puts in its oar and adds
a certain per cent. to the valuation.
Here is pretty kettle of fish. With
realty it is not so bad, because the tar
payer waits until all the tinkering is
done on the levy andgets his receipt for
all at one time. But the personal prop
erty tax, where it is not secured by
realty, Is in chaos. Hundreds of poor
people who have paid their dollar or
two on the cook stove and cradle, do
not know that the levy of this year Is
10, Is or 20 per cent. more than that of
last; that the State Board Of Muddlers
has raised the valuation l2t or 20 per
cent, aud that, therefore, they still owe
40 or so cents on their washtub and
baby carriage. 1t costs more to collect
the two-p ence-half- penny driblet than it
is worth. And this is great part of
the tax list gone delinquent.
Some Of this tax on personal property
assessed is righteous enough tax, but
how to collect it is something mo fellow
can find out" There is no realty to Sc
cure it, and the debtor will not pay it.
BY the way, in many cases he has re-
mONeu unu ueNor Will 10 iouhu "hhih
reach again.
There should be remedy devised for
two evils developed here. First, there
should be some way to dispense with the
services Of the State Board Of Equaliza.
ton, and thereby save their salaries and
the anguish created by their bungling
work at the same time. They know
little or nothing of the value Of land IN
the several parts of the State. The
effect OF their action is necessarily un.
just to many people, and it also creates
great confusion. The State might
levy q tax on each county ap-
portioned on the basis of acre
age and population combined.
Il would probably prove very
fair assessment as area and value of each
acre in any section will generally decide
the population which will gather there.
The county merely adds this sum to her
own levy and so gets at the rate for the
year.
As to the personal property tax,
where not secured by realty, 1t should
be collected at once when the valuation
is fixed, on the basis of the previous
year and let that be the end of the mat.
ter. II the levy were higher or lower
than this rate. the following year would
equalize the thing, and much trouble
would be saved to the officials, as well
as expense to the poorest class of tax
payers. The county, moreover, would
get more money.