Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-01-16
Valuation.
Tax
Rate.
Appropriation
Year.

1871 $500. Ss3'9s2' 500 ID 600. 40 l. 80
These figures show that Boston's wealth in
creased more both relatively and absolutely in
1892 that in any other year in its history.
But st1ll the Boston assessors are not happy.
They note the disparity between the increase of
real and personal property. not only during the
past year, but for many years. Real estate has
come to be mainly relied upon for the great
bulk Of the revenue raised by taxation. At the
same time it requires only slight knowledge
OF the form wealth assumes in great fortunes to
see that the actual increase of personal property
must be even greater than that of real estate
There Is no escape from the fact that large
share of all personal property in Boston escapes
taxation. either because the rich owners sup
press the truth in regard to their possessions
or else remove to some of the suburban towns
and avoid taxation in Boston by becoming tech
nically nOn-residents.
Conservative and well-informed men have es-
timated tina not less than $500, 900. 900 of tax.
able personal pr operty escapes taxation in Bos-
ton yearly. IL this immense sum Yielded its
just revenue it would reduce the tax rate of
Boston to about IS per 81 .OO0 This would greatly
ease the burdens on real estate, make lower
rents possible and contribute greatly to the
general welfare. Great public improvements
could be taken up and pushed to completion
without raising the tax rate to the present fig
ure, $12. 30 per 1000.
One of the most marked social tendencies of
the time In Boston Is the inclination of its rich
men to seek suburban residences They have
erected houses Of almost manorial elegance
along the North Shore and the South Shore. in
the shady quiet Of interior towns and even rs
far away rs Lenox, among the Berkshire hills
The accession to town of men who were
taxed on a large personal estate in Boston
would be expected to have a much greater ef-
feet on the amount of personal property than
on the value of real estate or the number of
polls However rich man may be he only
counts one on the schedule of population. and
where he goes into town, as these missing
citizens of Boston have done, for residence
only his contribution to the real estate is prac-
tically limited to the construction of one
house, which, however costly it NAV be- is only
evidence OF the still greater personal estate which
must be behind it in order to warrant it's cree
ton and provide for its maintenance
The returns for twenty years in the fifteen
towns which have received Bostons men of
wealth do not realize this expectation of a
grand increase of personal property. While
the polls OF these towns have more than
doubled and their real estate trebled in twenty
years the personal property available for taxa
ton is less than twice what it was O score of
years ago.
EXPERIENCE OF SOME OF THE TOWNS
Some Of the towns, when considered inJi-
vIdually, present interesting statistical phe-
nomena. Take Nahant, for example. In
twenty years it increased its population from
ia to 3SS, its real estate from 1885 900 to
81, l6l ,202, but it has reduced its personal
property from "a, 1901 to S2431. 400. 1t
mas more than trebled its population, more
than doubled its real estate. but has reduced
its personal property nearly one-half On
the face OF these returns alone the inference
would be that Nahant had received large
number of people who had invested their all in
little roofs to shelter them. But with all these
shiftings of personal estate Nahant's tax rate
in 1850 was So % and in 1901
Brookllne has increased its real estate almost
fourfCld. from IS. 3Sl 100 in 1870 to 1929 1927.
900 i'll 1880 and raised its polls from I,4I5 to
4.l04, yet has only advanced its personal prop
ertv about % per cent, from $40, 557 200 to
Sl5, 51l 100. lts tax rate was $3.50 twenty
years ago and now s:ar,les taxpayers at the
! alarming high rate of about 5000
Beverly, including Beverly Farms. fam Gus
the world over for the town division con-
troversy. has trebled its real estate and more
than doubled its polls. but has increased its
personal property less than SO per cent-it had
S2.6lO, 500 OF personal property way back in
1870. and with all the growth along the
branches since then had but 50, $50. $50 in per-
sonGl property i'll 1850.
Marblehead. which includes Marblehead
Neck, boasts a tax rate of S5.16. but confesses
to have 100000 less personal pro erty than in
1870 though its real estate has more than
doubled and its polls have gained more than 90
per cent.
Cohasset has raised its real estate in twenty
years from S943, 1923 to s2, 2OS, 554 but, despite
Its popularity with men of wealth, its personal
property has advanced in q score of wears only
$780, 600. 1t can, however, claim to have low
cred its tax rate from s13 in 1870 to 81. 10
in 1850
But the worst feature of Boston's lost millions
is that the city is even denied the consolation
of looking over the state at large and saving in
the cold comfort of bereavement: what is
Boston's loss is Massachusetts gain