Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-06-29
THAT BUSINESS TAX.
Real Estate Dealers of Pittsburg
Taking Steps to Defeat 1t.
MUST BE SETTLED BY THE COURTS.
They Won Once and Not Cent Will They
Pay to the City Now.
1T NAY APPLY TO OTHER BUSINESS

Real, estate men have started fight
against the business tax which they say
will knock it silly when 1t gets into the
courts. Last year the ordinance of Councils
provided that the tax upon all men who did
a commissi on business should be 10 mills
upon each dollar. The real estate men
made kick against that and refused to pay
cent of taxes, upon the ground that they
were not properly classed. They all rose
up in arms against the provisions of the
ordinance Real estate agents they were,
and under the clause of the ordinance they
were classed as commission brokers' Upon
that technicality they refused to pay the
tax, and the result was that when the tax
department threatened them with suit the y
laughed and, pointing to the language of
the ordinance, told the city authorities to
go ahead and sue tor the 10-mill tax upon
their gross receipts.
Then it was that City Attorney More
land discovered fatal defect in the ordin-
ance, the result being that the real estate
agents paid not no taxes last year upon their
gross incomes But last year Councils
remedied this by placing the real estate
men under the proper heading of real estate
agents. This amended section of the ordi-
nance reads: Real estate brokers, forward
ing and commission merchants, mills
upon each dollar upon said commission or
brokage.
The Real Estate Agents Agreement
Last year when the real estate men had
gained their point they still kept in service
their committee, consisting of s. A. Dickie
& Co, Samuel Black & Co., and Black &
Baird. Under their appointment at this
time these gentlemen drew up the following
agreement, which was signed by all the
best known real estate agents in the city:
We the undersigned real estate agents
doing business in the city of Pittsburg, be-
lieving and being advised that the city busi-
ness tax assessed at 10 mills on the gross
amount of business done by US partakeS of
the nature of an income tax, and is there
forre illegal, oppressive and unjust, do
hereby agree to Withhold payment of said
tax, secure the opinion and service of an
attorney and test the Legality of the assess
ment in the courts of Allegheny county.
We do hereby agree to divide the expenses
of making said test in court pro rata among
us according to the amounts assessed against
us respectively to an amount of legal ex-
penses for an opinion not to exceed $500, pro-
Vided an opinion be bad prior to June Is,
1891: this matter to be in charge of a COM
mittee with power to act, consisting of three
real estate firms having the largest assess
ment, whose signatures are appended
The signatures were those of all the big
real estate men, and the committee was ap-
pointed. When it was found that the time
for the payment of the obnoxious tax was
approaching, the committee was called to-
gether and with them met large number
of the real estate agents. They were
unanimous in their opinion that steps should
be taken to resist the payment of the tax
even if the case had to be taken to the Su-
preme Court of the State. They telt forti-
fled in the fact that their attorney, j. Scott
Ferguson, had declared that the ordinance
was unconstitutional for the reason that it
was an income tax.
A Circular to Real Estate Agents.
Fortified with the opinion the committee
to-day will send to all real estate agents
this circular:
PIrrsBURG, June Is
Do not pay your city business tax this
year, as the real estate brokers intend to
test the legality OF the assessment in the
courts. having been successful in having it
e1onerated last year. This has nothing to
10 with the State mercantile license.
"Now," Mr.. Gloninger, of the firm of
Black & Baird, ''that circular tells just
where all of us real estate men stand. There
are about 800 of us. This tax, you must re-
member, is upon our gross and not our net
receipts The tax is a most unjust one, in
that it taxes practically our incomes. q
thing, we claim, not legal under the laws
of this State We won our fight last year,
because the people who drew the ordinance
evidently did not know what they were
doing. The tax this year is due on the last
day of this month, but we don't propose to
pay it until the case has been settled by the
courts. although the ordinance has been an
nounced so as to put us in the proper cate
CORY of taxables
"If we win this fight, and we are sure we
shall, then the decision will apply to other
lines of business. Indeed, believe that
now we have made the move many other
people in business will combine to fight
this iniquitous ordinance. 1t is an outrage
that law passed many years ago, when
Pittsburg was in need of money, should be
applied in this age of progress when the
sources OF taxation should be beyond such
means of securing revenue"
Swearing Down Their Receipts.
Another real estate man put his opposi-
tion to the ordinance in this way: "Iknow
of a certain firm in this town that made
sworn statement to the effect that their
gross brokerage was only $1,000, whereas
their clerk hire amounted to more than that
sum. This, said he, twas a mere question
of swearing down your receipts See what
an opportunity it gives for a man to COM
nit perjury. No business man likes to
have the amount of his receipts placed be-
fore the public. 1t is not fair
City Attorney Moreland when asked what
he would do in case the real estate men re-
fused to pay the business tax, said that he
had no opinion to express until the real
estate men had refused to paw the tax. In
the City Collectors Office it was stated that
no trouble was expected from the real estate
men, because when they refused to paw
there would probably be an arrangement
made whereby an amicable arrangement
could be reached.
At the Office of the Collector of De-
linquent Taxes Chief Clerk Lewis said that
he had no fear of any trouble over the col |
lection of the taxes from the real estate
men. ''Of course" said he, ''if they re-
fuse to pay the only thing for us to do is to |
distrain. In this case / think that there |
will be case stated, to use the legal ex-
preston, and that there will be no trouble. |
They wont pay, we insist upon their pay
ment-and then the Court comes in and |
fixes the whole matter. Even. were the |
real estate men to win 1 cannot see that the |
decision would apply to other lines of busi- |
ness We will send out the customary no.
tices, and upon the failure of the party no. |
titled to come up to the Captains desk and |
settle, the regular notice will be served"
The True Laxative Principle
OF the plants used in manufacturing the