The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1888-04-05
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The system oftaxation in vogue in
Emporia Ii a peculiar one. and Is
cause should there be little progress
in the way Of erecting either new build
ings or new improvements. The style
of assessing valuations for taxes Is
about on a par with assessing valuations
on Irish tenants farms by English
landlords, and making rents to CORES
pond Herewith.
In other words, vacant lots are as
sessed at about one-fourth Of the Valua-
ton the owners hold them at when
asked tosell, while lots adjoining with a
small house or other improvements, are
assessed at quite or nearly the actual
value OF the improvements, thus put
ting premium on investments in I'M
improved real estate, and at the same
time acting as block to the wheels of
progress in the way of the upbuildine
Of the city.
Many examples OF this sort of assess
ment may be mention. One, is that Of
house and lot ON the corner of State
street and Fifth avenue, which Is
valued for assessment purposes al
81 900, while the adjoining vacant lot
is only Insued at a valuation of ESQ
The injustice Of this may be readily
seen, when we state that the probable
salable valuation, if put on the market
to-day, would possibly be o., 900 for the
house and lot and 81 600 for the vacant
lot.
In other words, vacant lots are put or
an assessable valuation at about one
forth Of their salable worth while i'm.
proyements are assessed nearly If moi
quite up to what they actually cost il
money, and fully up to what they would
bring in the market to-day.
And the great injustice of this unfair
method of assessing is felt most by
those least able to bear it-by the
poorer people, who own a little home
and are paying for it through the loa1
and raking and scraping to make botI
ends meet during the hard times fol
lowing on last seasons poor crops.
But our city itself is suffering from
this method of doing business.
Better far to have the inflated valua
lions on real estate of some of our sis
ter cities than to have a system lik.
this that acts like an incubus on al
building, especially of homes by thu
working classes, who do not care TO pu
their little all in a lot, and, becaus,
they put a few hundred dollars of i'm
provements on it, have it taxed enough
to make it cheaper to rent at prevail.
ing prices, even If the rentable houses
in the city, with few exceptions, are
unfit for human beings to live in.
This method Of heavy taxation or
improvements is possibly one of the
reasons why houses and lots can bt
purchased to-day in many localities o.
the city at nearly the same figures
that vacant lots adjoining are held
This possibly is the reason that there
Is a much sitter market for unim-
proved lots than for lots with improve
ments on them.
The consequence is tod ay, that
while they are few vacant houses fol
rent in the city, every one at all de-
sirable is quickly snapped up and filed
by good tenants. Other houses are al.
lowed to go to rack and ruin and re-
main idle because it does not pay to
put improvements on property only
to have the taxeJ raised with each i'm
proYement.
With a system of taxation calculated
to encourage building by making taxa
ton on home improvements less, and
increasing assessable valuations on
land held for speculative purposes, a
building boom would at once be inau-
gurated that would tend to male better
times in short notice. Many people
who are now renting and living in
houses not at all desirable, would then
build homes for themselves.