The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-02-09
TO COLLECT THE TAX
Collector Smith Certifies
Delinquents on Person-
atty to Comptroller
Hough.
LIST TO BE PUBLISHED
One Result OF the Equal Taxation
Hearing Names Will Cause
Astonishment.
LIST TO BE PUBLISHED

When the Equal Taxation Commission
appointed by Governor Griggs was in this
city, hearing testimony as to the taxa
ton of property held by individuals and
railroad corporations, some of the Com
missioners frequently asserted that the
city's financial condition would Be i'm
proved If anything but a farcical effort
was made to collect personal taxes It
was limited also that the methods in
vogue relative to the collection of this
class of taxes would prove a great hind
rance to the oity in securing Legislation
revising the tax upon railroad properties
The attention of the local officials was
called to the fact that Newark leyies
and collects personal taxes with as much
system as it does the taxes upon realty,
and they were advised to emulate New,
ark's example
Since the equal taxation hearings ceas-
ed, the city officials have held repeated
conferences on the subject, and within
the last week the city's law officers have
been consulted and also outside counsel.
AS q consequence, it has been decided to
attempt at least to collect personal taxes
this year by following out the law to the
ment, City Collector Simeon Smith this
morning filed with City Comptroller
Hough certified list of the personal tax
delinquents for the taxation years 1856.
The list contains more than eight hum
dred names, and the several amounts
owed by the delinquents will aggregate
$50, ,0Q0
The list is an interesting and at the
same time an amusing document. There
are to be seen on it the names Of the
city's most prominent gentlemen, social
ly. financially and judicially; names OF
men who for years have been bowling
for equal taxation and agitating the adj
visibility of revising the whole tax sys-
tenn; men who. in the Legislature, have
introduced equal taxation measures; gen.
tlemen on whose advice the proposed
proceedings are now to be conducted, and
finally. gentlemen who will have to do
officially. with delinauents. themselves
included, perhaps, if arrests are made for
non-payment of arfearages, as Is provid-
ed, by law. There are on the list names
of dead men who owed personal taxes
and also firms which did business in the
city for month or six months, perhaps,
and then disappeared, and finally. mer-
chants who have never paid the city a
dollar of personal taxes, although ,charg-
ed with Hundreds of dollars worth year
after year.
All hope has been abandoned of ever
collecting arrearages for more than a
year back, the law, it being held, reliev-
ing such delinquents as escape from year
to year from all liability.
The amount of money lost by the city
in this way, through the expiration OF
the limitation. would perhaps reach a
half million dollars.
The first thing Controller Hough .is to
do now Is to arrange the list of delin-
quents for publication as soon as practic-
able, showing the several amounts owed
by them.
According to several of the officials,
many persons who are assessed are quite
willing to pay if others equally liable will
do likewise: but up to the present time
such majority of personal property
owners have avoided the tax or posi-
lively refused to pay it that others in
clined to the belief that the tax is an
unjust imposition, and have also refrain
ed from making payment.