The Opelousas courier., 1895-08-17
TAX DISCRIMINATION.

WILMA ION
'"' rays the Taxes-Bis Property Own.
ers Evade and Little Ones Pay.
Inc tax commissioners are confirm.
ally repeating to complaining taxnav.
ers mat they try to make all property.
ooth real and personal, paw it's ius,
snare OF the cost of government: bu,
90 they? The News is in possession Of
Facts and figures which indicate tina,
tneyssnot only do not make everv piece
OF property Deal it's share of the bur.
oen i.ot government, but that gross
iaVe-1tlsm must exist. Among the
hguSes IN our possession is a compari.
son between assessment and true value.
10 make this $50 pieces of real property
were aiken at random from the re-
ports OF sales made on the exchange.
n the ratio of percentage that the
assessments bear to the true value. as
SHOWN by the consideration named in
the transfers ranged from IS to so
per cent.
OPPRESSIVE ON THE poor.
one OF the queer things brought out
IN the investigation was that large
properties were assessed at the mini
mum, while small properties were as
sessed at the maximum. In making
these comparisons there was no at
tempt to select; every ward was repre-
sented. The general opinion prevail
ing among taxpayers that the average
assessment of property is IS per cent.
OF its true value is found to be an err
roneous one The tax officials have
sworn before legislative committees
that 65 per cent. represents the as
sessed to the actual value of the citv's
property, ane they have reiterated this
to every angry taxpayer who COM
planned his assessment was too high.
1t is true that the unit of property as
represented by small owners is not as
sessed very much below that figure,
and sometimes considerably above,
but the low assessments on large
properties bring the average down to
As. 25.
A TAX BASIS.
1t is a generally admitted fact that
the true value of property is worth
what it will bring in the open market.
If by comparing the tax Office books
with real estate sales it is shown that
the average tax assessment is 4s. 25 of
the actual value, then the citizen who
pays more than hat amount pays too
much, and the one who pays less than
that amount, pays too little.
The false theory of the tax officials
who permit these inequalities among
individual taxpayers in the county of
New York not only does an injustice
to the person who is assessed at IS per
cent. or more in the collection of city
taxes, but further injustice is done to
him in the equalization of values be-
tween the counties of the state by the
state board of assessors, because he is
forced to pay more than his share of
the state taxes.
AN OUTRAGEOUS DISCRIMINATION.
The News has in its possession a
complete survey of a property belong
ing to a great estate, situated in the
city Of New York. containing $40 lots,
100x2l There has been spent in i'm
pioFihS eAAS piOPCI y aAA1oSs SA,eoo,oo"'
and there is not a shadow of doubt
but that it is worth many millions. A
prominent real estate dealer, when
questioned as to whether S., 600, 600
would buy the property, said: "The
owner would treat the would-be pur-
chaser who came to make that offer as
q lunatic," yet the tax officials assess
this magnificent property at $266, 600,
and when they returned their assess
ment roll in 1894, swore that in their
opinion that sum represented its just
and true value, when, in fact, it hard
" represented one-twentieth OF the
actual value.
It was understood that the City club
was busy some time ago in making an
investigation in regard to the Unequal
tiles existing in the ratio Of the as
;sessed to actual values among the diff
ferent properties in the city. It an
not be possible that the investigating
committee Of the club failed to find
abuses if they Investigated to any ex-
tent, or, perhaps. they are holding
back the results Of their labors. We
are promised some figures from reform
sources, which are likely to prove very
observation-disclosures News.