The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-01-12
Incorporates, cemeteries, firemen, n

IS
a That an appeal be allowed from
state Board of Assessors to State Board
Of , Taxation. in cases Of errors as TO
railroads, same as individuals
70 That real estate be valued triennially
ana al lands assessed and taxed separate
from ys Il, improvements 4, a've,n thereon.
Iactures be. exempt. not exceeding ten
years. on the vote of taxing district
where located, same as in New England
Il. That the license fee or tax on cap.~
tai stock OF miscellaneous corporations
pc restored to one-tsnth of one per cent.
lS; That commission be appointed to
codify our tax laws, which now comprise
~ ~ es.o1 sections; extending over 1s1 pages.
The above Recommendations, if enacted
int into laws; would be sters. towars Equal
Iaxatlon," i and, It is believed would
Jersey at least one-half
The general report is signed by all the
members of the Commission; but General
Rushing appends note saying that he
only concurs in the concrete recommen-
dation that the State abandon her share
OF the tax on second class property and
IN the reasons given for non-interference
with the Act of 1884 He says he is un-
able to agree with the abstract princi-
pies laid down in the report.
THE GENERAL REPORT.
The General Report opens with the
preliminary statement outlining the
status of the taxation question in this
State. This is followed. by a compre-
hensive analysis of the Railway Taxation
Act of 1884. apropos of which the some
what obnoxious conclusion is drawn
that this system of taxing property used
for railroad and canal purposes differs
essentially from the method and machin-
ery by which the property owned by in
d1viduals and other corporations, is listed
assessed and taxed. The former is made
class, and taxed by single Board of
Assessors throughout the State; the prin-
ciple underlying the assessment is for the
State Board to ascertain the true value
OF the properly in confe rmity with the
statute and the constitutional mandate
and then multiply the result or value so
ascertained by a rate fixed by the statute.
The railroad and canal companies being
required to make return to the State
Board of Assessors of certain specified
data to aid them in the discharge of their
duties. While the latter system. viz the
property of individuals and other corpor-
atfons is valued assessed and listed in
some taxing districts by single asses
some instances, and appointed by the
Mayor of the cities in others. The amount
OF money necessary to defray the public
expenditures is first ascertained. The
values are required to be at true value
by law, the same as the valuations of
railroad and canal property; the sum
total of the expenditures in a taxing dis
triet, SO ascertained are divided by the
sum total of the valuations; the quotient
is the tax rate for that taxing district
in any given year, which in turn, null
tiplied by the value of each holding,
gives the amount of tax each individual
and corporation owning property is re-
quired to pay for any designated year.
The amount of tax and the tax rate re-
fleet the economy or lavish expenditure
of public money in any given taxing dis
trict for designated year.
Commenting on the private property
system the report says
The tax rates in New Jersey vary. not
only in the various districts, but from
year to year. In 1895 they varied from
ST 80, the lowest in Greenwich Township,
Warren county, to $50 .13, the highest in
sand dollars of valuation. In those tax
ing districts where the largest amount
of property is located, such as the city
of Newark, the tax rate was s. .sS; in Jer-
sey City, S2.75; Paterson, 81 so; Camden,
81 80; Trenton, 81; New Brunswick, 80 go;
Elizabeth, $2.98 on hundred dollars of
valuation of ratables.
In connection with this latter system,
it should be stated, that many of the as
SCISSORS do not comply with the consti-
tutional mandate and make the assess
ments upon a standard of true value, but
at percentage less than true value; nor
as rule do the local assessors succeed
in listing and taxing all the intangible
and invisible personal property that is
subject to tax under the law. This is
noticeably so in the cities, more so, than
in the country districts, which results
in part from the inherent difficulties, and
in part from the fact that the local pub
1ranc
port the local assessors in 3 resort to
such inquisitorial methods so called as
seem necessary, to unearth and reach all
of this class of property subject to tax
alton.
1T will be readily seen, that these two
systems thus described and contrasted,
are not co-ordinate there is no tribunal
in the State clothed with power in which
the values of the one class can be con-
trasted with the values of the other they
run in parallel lines, so to speak, being
two separate independent systems
From this analysis arises the question:
Does the property used for railroad and
canal purposes yield as many dollars in
revenue as q like amount of property
owned by individuals and other corpora
tions." The Commission thinks that If
the taxing officers did their duty IN as
sessing both sorts of property at its true
value the two systems would not be uni
form and equal. 1t goes on
In the act under which the property
used for railroad and canal purposes is
taxed, the greater proportion or amount
of such property, viz:-S179, ,5S6, COG as COM
pared with the entire valuation of $780,
7o5S22, the rate of taxation is fixed at
one-half OF one per cent " of 100 or five
dollars ($5.00) on the thousand dollars of
valuation, and the balance, viz:-S41 120,
216 that known as second class prop
erty,' the rate of taxation is fixed so as
not to exceed one per cent. or ten dollars
($10) on a thousand dollars of valuation
for local purposes and fifteen dollars
($15) on a thousand dollars of valuation
for both local and State purposes; while
the rate of taxation assessed against
property owned by individuals and other
corporations is controlled by the needs
and necessities of the taxing district
where the property is located The gem
eral average of the tax rate in the vari-
Gus taxing districts throughout the State
for the year 1895, as calculated and placed
before the Commission at one of the pub
lick hearings, amounted to $40. 36 on the
thousand dollars of valuations, or If the
average tax rate for each county. as
stated in the fifth annual report of the
State Board of Taxation, be added to-
gether and divided by twenty-one CID
the number of counties in the State, the
average tax rate by that method of com
putation would be SIT. 20 on the thousand
dollars of valuation"
Starting, however, with the principle
that equality in taxation is essential to
good government the commissioners re-
gard perfect and exact equality in the op-
eraItion of tax laws as a dream of tf1eo-;
rists. With this the report somewhat abb
ruptly passes en- to another branch of the
subject as follows:-
DISTRIBUTION OF THE TAX
"Ass511.ne as a fact that the property
used fer railroad and canal purposes does
not nav as much tax THAT is as MANY dol