Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1893-11-23
PERSONAL PROPERTY TAXES
Driving Corporations Out of Town-A
Menace to Rents.

menace Co henCS.
When the commissioner of taxes and
assessments in their zeal to effect a
more equita BILE ratio of taxation of per.
sonal property. SO largely increased the
assessment on the property of corpora
tons having their main or home Offices
outside of this city, they Indirectly and
perhaps unwittingly struck serious
blow at the real interests of the city.
It has resulted in giving New York tax
payers another and valuable object
lesson in the injurious effects of taxing
personal property at all.
A prominent and highly esteemed
property owner called at the Office of
The Record and Guide, ana made this
statement of facts: II had as one of my
tenants a corporation whose home of
fee is in New Jersey They maintained
an extensive Office and salesroom in
this city, and were paying me So, 500 a
year rent This year they were called
upon to pay large bill for taxes on
their stock and fixtures. The new pol
icy of the tax department in this re-
spect aroused their anger, and they de-
termined to abandon their New York
salesroom and have moved the entire
esta blishment back to Newark, only
maintaining desk in a corner of an
office for their local representative. I
am out the 81, 500 a year they were pay
ing me. A friend told me this morning
of a similar experience, where the cor
poration was paying him So, 900 a year.
have made certain by,di1igent inquiry
that the taxing of their stocks of goods
and Office property was the sole reason
that moved these people to withdraw
from our city.
Now it must be clear from the facts
that have stated that these attacks
On the personal property of foreign cor
porations will work our city great in
jury. The additional revenue derived
from them will be more than Offset by
the reductions they will effect in the
rental value of real estate. Our policy
has fostered investments in
real estate: by levying only light taxes
on personal property we have made real
estate bear the real burden of support
ing the government. This measure of
liberality towards the foreign corpor-
atoms has induced many of them to
come here and use our property and do
their principal business in our city. We
have profted by the money they have
spent with us in every direction, but
the city has profted by the
taxable values they have inn
parted to our property. Now this new
policy of taxing everything that
IS in sight is driving these corporations
out of our city and is throwing our
back on our hands without
The value of these properties
S dependent on their income-producing
and in striking thus at their
capacity, the tax
are reducing the taxa
Die value of our real estate and thus
the city's largest and sur
st and most reliable source of income. |
f could have my way would publish
o the world that New York city levies |
10 tax on personal property. Within a
ew years the city would attract to it's |
financial and commercial markets the |
vealthiest and best corpora tions and |
concerns in the country, and |
cal estate would SO far advance in val
lie that the city would gain a greater
evenue than it could ever hope to OBJ
ain from taxing personal property
Sew York Real Estate Record Guide.