The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-11-19
lax Law AMENDMENTS
Recommendations Made BY the
State Board Of AS
SCISSORS.
Specscs to the Jsyseu Cap Ne,cs.

some advance ngufeS from which were
recently published in t'arhe Jersey City
News" has been completed and is now
dn the hands of the Governor. The re-
port contains some Interesting material
for taxpayers, including a number of
suggestions for remedial legislation in
the matter of taxes. This is especially
interesting at the present time when the
question of equal taxation is being brought
so prominently forward
The report summarizes the suggestions
for remedial legislation as follows,-
IA. Assess and tax bank stock IN the
taxing district in which the bank is To-
Gated.
"B. Repeal the $500 exemption allowed
to iremen and militiamen. If it be con-
sidered a sound rule of public policy for
the State thus to pay the militia and
fremen. it is In the Judgment Of this
Board unwise and productive of fraud
and evasion to permit the tax laws to be
used In this indirect way.
&C. Repeal the law of March II, 1893,
by which p~arsonages are exempt from
taxation to the value of 5000. Many
arguments have been advanced in current
literature, both for and against the ex-
emption of church property. The State
Board of Taxation is of the opinion that
Whatever the representative merits of this
question may be as a mere question of
political economy In the abstract, the
settled policy Of the State has for so
many years been along the lines of ex-
emption for this class of property, that
p intelligent public sentiment of the
State will not sanction its taxation; but
the State Board of Taxation is also of
the opinion that the exemption Of this
class of property should be cnrtailed and
not enlarged.
d. Limit or fix the time in which APP
peals to this Board may be filed by a
clear and distinct legislative declaration
on the subject. The two acts of March
II. 1895. and March Is. 1895, are in a
measure contradictory and confusing.
e. Permitting no deduction for debts,
except from the assessed value of per-
sonal property, mortgages excepted; the
act OF March %, 1885, prohibits indebted
ness to National or State banks from
being allowed from the taxable value of
the real estate.
r. Power by the State Board of Taxa
ton to certify to the Supreme Court ques-
tons OF law relating to taxation upon a
statement Of facts found by the State
either abolish in toto the poll tax
u make a clear legislative declaration on
ene SUBJECT. providing for its more eff
IN all with the possible exception Of Eliza
Deth). It is mainly collected only from
nose residents who pay tax on real es-
tate. In point of fact, no other effort Is
made to collect this tax.
H. II mas been suggested to the State
Board of Taxation that if a law was
PASSED compelling the local authorities
d00uaIiV To nI1hIiSh q 1irf Af
ers their taxable property and the amount
OF their tax, 1t wou correct UNEQUAL
Valuations and result in the discovery of
IN general may be called the New England
Plan. and has undoubtedly much to rec
ommend it,"
which. with the suggestions given ahovss
practically embody the ideas of the Equal
Iaxadion Commission in relation to the
saxaaion OF property other than railroad
THE tax avs on the subject of local
and municipal taxation should be codi-
neg. inns question the Board has con-
sidered at greater length in its fifth an
nuaI report and in another part of this re-
port.
The time for making the assessments.
aner completion the collection of taxes
ana the lien on the property assessed
shoul be uniform throughout the State
tive each taxpayer and each taxing dis
lricl ample opportunity to examine the
4A4A dlIu lIlO
ttons, SO that the evidence on which an
appear IS based may be procured, and pro
vide that the appeals of taxing districts.
~equalized, shall be heard and disposed of
before the tax rate is struck. (See second
annual report, p. 35.)
completely disregard the Constitution and
statutes of the State, which REQUIRE nror-
erIy to be assessed at true value. these
assessors assess at a percentage of true
value, and make no intelligent effort to
assess Intangible and invisible personal
property. This is an evil and an injustice.
making the tax rate on the property Of
those who are properly assessed higher
n 1t otherwise would be. Since the
creation OF the State Board of Taxation
q steady Improvement has been made.
and some of the injustices remedied. but
the Board Is of the opinion tina the eff
further promoted If the derelict assessors
could be compelled to obey the law. TO
that end the Legislature should give the
move those assessors who disregard the
law, either by direct action on the part
81 me FL, Board, or by a written complaint
This, 1t is believed. would have a bene-
1T has been suggested that the State
Board OF Taxation be clothed with power
TO appoint inspectors to procure the evil
dence on which complaints could be made
n writing to the said Board. by which
they could act in removing assessors who
dlsobey the law and the Constitution"
The report is replete with statistics and
also contains some Information concern
ing the evasion of proper taxation. 1t
calls attention to the means, practices and
devices used and employed for this pur-
pose, and speaks of the vast amount of
property in the State which escapes tax
alton.
Urgent reasons are presented for hav-
ing the entire body of local or municipal
tax statutes embodied in one general.
comprehensive statute. 1t shows how
complicated the existing statutes are and
&C g fhaf y7auarfIAInae Il tnz ~.1n1
statutes passed by the Legislature con-
tinue to multiply.