The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-08-12
PERSONAL TAXATION.
Newark Demonstrates That
Taxes on Personal Prop
erty Can Be Collected.
HOW IT IS BROUGHT ABOUT
Description Of the System By
Which Fifty Per Cent Of the
Levy Is Secured.
HOW IT IS BROUGHT ABOUT

II
NEWARK, Aug. IL, 1ss7.-When the citf-
zens of Jersey City were fighting for
equal taxation before the Legislaturetheir
enemies constantly taunted them with the
matter of taxation on personal property.
IF you would assess your personal prop
erty and collect it, they would say.
your city would not be so badly oft.'
Jersey City has always resented this
taunt and declared that she does collect
all the personal taxes It is possible to col
lect, and that she does as well as other
cities. That is not correct. Elizabeth
and Newark collect a much larger pro-
portion of their personal taxes than Jer-
sey City does. This Is because in both
those cities the law Is enforced and the
screws are put upon all delinquents- In
Elizabeth they do not hesitate to take a
mans body for his personal taxes
Newark has excellent success collecting
taxes of this nature and easily gathers
in fifty per cent. of the entire levy. Much
OF this is due to the excellent manner in
which the property is assessed
Newark reached and taxed last year
s25, 5S7, ,7S7 of personal property. while Jer-
sey City reached only $780, S32. They go
about the matter in a systematic manner
out here When the time comes for levy
ing the tax, blanks are sent to the owners
of personal property and they fill the
blanks and send them to the tax board.
All the statements are sworn to If the
Board has reason to suspect that any OF
the sworn statements are incorrect the
maker is summoned before the Board
and very closely questioned so that he
divulges all that he has or commits will
ful perjury
OF course all the blanks are not re-
turned, and then the property has to bs
assessed by the assessor Newark has
one assessor for each ward and no one
of them is sent to assess property in the
ward in which he lives. The assessor
visits the house or place of business or
the delinquents and fixes a value upon
what he can see upon the premises He
also examines the man to ascertain If he
has any, property in the shape of bank
stock bonds, etc.
When all this has been done the bills
are prepared, and for this purpose, as in
Jersey City, a large force of extra clerks
are employed When the bills are made
out they are distributed by men employed
for that purpose so that each mans tax
bill is left for him at his residence. This
is all done by August 20, and the collee-
ton of the taxes begins on September l.
Newark encourages the early payment OF
taxes by a liberal system of rebates Any
one who pays between September 1 and
Is inclusive, is allowed discount of two
per cent He who pays between Septem-
ber ID and 30, inclusive, is allowed one-per
cent discount, while he who pays be-
tween October and 20 gets a discount Of
one-half of one per cent. On October 20
a +I,1 lat
gin To November 20 the penalty is one
per cent. from November 21 TO December
20 two per cent. and from December 20
to January 20 it is three per cent. Last
and the penalties $5,252.46. So Newark
paid out $32, 1876 to get her taxes in early.
This all applies to personal property as
well and is one of the potent causes. no
doubt, which enable Newark to succeed
SO well in collecting personal taxes.
On January 20 the bills b become % .s6 deIin-
ceiver Of taxes those for real estate go
ing to the Comptroller and those for
personal to the office of the Col
erty There are seven of these collectors
and they receive fifty cents for every
collection they make. and tive per cent.
of arrears make returns every week to
the Receiver of Taxes They have better
success than the special collectors did
seven make enough collections to pay
them for devoting their time to the
business. Although each one has the
power to take the body of the delinquent
he seldom resorts to it, Only two de-
lnauents have been arrested in the past
four or five years, and they were only ar
rested for defying the collectors. Never
theless very little personal property goes
unassessed in Newark and, as stated be-
/ fore at least fifty per cent. of it is coll
lected.
In speaking of the suit which was In
stituted by John Mullins of Jersey City
to test the constitutionality of the act
authorizing the taxation of personal prop
cry the Deputy Receiver of Taxes said
that Jersey City need not feel any alarm
over the suit He did not believe that the
courts would declare the act unconstitu-
tional