Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-05-22
The rates to the lakes in force last year will
be maintained this summer.
A GNARLED OCCUPATION.
Wanted Badly, n System of Taxation That
Will Do Justice and Reduce Inequalities
The 0ccunotiou

Wanted Badly, System of Taxation That
Will Do Justice and Reduce Inequalities
The Occupation Tax.
The Western States from time far back
have offered large sums of money to any one
who will discover the cause of milk sickness,
or trembles, among cattle, but he who can
devise a nearly perfect system Of taxation
one that will afford financial grease sufi-
cient without stirring taxpayers bile-w1ll
be more appreciated than he who discovers
the nature, cause and cure of the trembles.
The regulations for assessing the occupa-
tion tax in this State form the most incongru-
Gus tumble imaginable, and though the
County Commissioners have struck upon
what seems to give the best results, yet 1t Is
by no means uncommon to find man
whose occupation is put at 500, while along
side is another who makes less but is assessed
at three or five times as much.
Previous to last year assessors, or at least
some of them, attempted to follow the law
of 1882, which required them to ascertain as
nearly as possible the income of each oecu-
patton. Even honest effort usually ended
in miserable failure and $40 week clerk
was frequently assessed higher than
mechanics in mills, who made from
$50 to $50 a week. Judge Paxsou
finally ruled that the law of 1882 was prac-
tically uninforceable and that laborers,
clerks, professional men must be assessed
uniformly, j. e., preacher who was paid
$4,000 year could not be assessed any
higher on his occupation than those who
preached to backwoods congregations at
salaries ranging from 5000 to 81 200. A
laborer who could not earn more than 70
cents per day must pay as mnch occupation
tax as one who got 50 per day, and lawyer
who could not make Office rent must pay as
much as one whose professional Income was
$50, 900 year.
After study Of this decision, two Of the
Commissioners, Messrs. Mercer and McWil-
liams, decided to follow Justice Paxson,
while Mr.. Mckee opposed and was backed
by an opinion from County Attorney Geyer,
who held to the law of 1882. Mr.. Mckee
was overruled, and occupations were re-
duced in classification from 348 to g.
Common laborers and infrm persons come
under the first class, and are assessed at S100
for occupation income; clerks and some pro-
fessional men, preachers at least, who are
supposed to make less than 81 900, at $500,
and lawyers, contractors, merchants, edi-
tors, etc., at $500.
Mr.. Mercer states that while the assess
ment was thus reduced nearly $4,000. 900,
it returns almost as much money as did the
old system, and there is scarce any fighting
with taxables-it was shindy of several
months each year previously-and there has
been a vast saving in the amount of clerical
hire necessary to hear and rectily assessors
errors.
The lot OF conscientious assessor is not a
happy one. He must get his information
largely from women, and they generally
look upon him as a disagreeable inquisitor,
and it is said that experience has shown
that the average woman has less conscience
than the average man. While'the change
has lightened labor in the Commissioners
Office, it has also reduced the average yearly
amount of profanity several thousand cubic
feet. The professions of law, medicine,
divinity, etc., seem to be regarded as lux
uries, and taxed accordingly.