The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-03-07
SWEARING OFF TAXES.

AAU NOllk III Wv
~. ". horouphs OF Manhattan and the Bronx. The
'"suI nj applicants waiting to mako oath that
80 personal property liable to taxation Ia
- loss thnn that with which II 10 sought to
-. them. or nothing at all, has been very
Snob Increased this wear by the energetic moas-
.,.. adopted by the predecessors OF the present
w., commissioners These officials, whether to
.yo,hit their zeal or to create trouble for their
eA"ass,ora made up, from club books and from
. sir,ctorv called tho Social Register. which
nrrnor,s to give tho name and address OF every.
~ =, his city entitled to social distinction. q
~, - a, 600 persons whom they assessed for
n.s.or,l taxes urou sums varying from 5000
,sS5 600 nOO. or these persons many are not
.o,;ionts of the city, but come here only for the
~. routbs of cav winter season.; others are
.orrc men supported by their parents and hav.
e. M means of their own; others, indeed, have
,.ortortable incomes. derived from their per-
.onol .xertions, but no capital, and others,
.aoin. have fortunes much smaller than their
,Doso of life indicates, or else have them in
,,stsd in securities like Government bonds or
,ornorstion stocks which the taxing power
cannot touch. All these people have to be heard
.,d their cases disposed OF, and the task is to-
sIous both for them and for the commissioner
vho have the matter in charge.
A great OutCry mas Deeu lhouo okeAhos ehoeO
..tar dodgers" as they are called, as IL they
we're evading the fulflmentof a just obligation.
and some people 20 80 far az to charge that they
ave periurers. The truth is that they are guilty
neither of fraud nor OF false swearing. Theydo
A more than comply with the law as it stands.
In order TO be liable to taxation on his personal
,ronerty a man must possess 1t in the first place.
n he Possesses 1t, it must be bodily within the
hopndsries of the State; because IL 1t 10 situated
elsewhere the statute exempts 1t. Shares In
.ornorations. either Of this State or of other
states which nay taxes on their capitals are ex-
.unt in the hands Of their individual holders.
United States bonds are also exempt, and so
vsrc formerly national bank notes, Government
rotes and gold and silver certificates, and all
tinds of coin, but this exemption was removed by
An act OF Congress passed Aug. IS, 1894. giving
to the States the right to tax that kind OF
nroperty. and people who used to turn their
bank deposits into cash Mt the beginning OF
every year for the purpose OF reducing their
taxable possessions can DO 1t no longer. Real
estate, Of course. cannot be assessed as per
sonal property, and banks now pay the taxes
Of their shareholders as part OF their expenses.
Without going more fully into details. It can
truthfully be said that a resident OF this State
ma 10 very rich and have u largo income
from his business or from his Investments, and
vet be able to swear down to next to nothing his
personal tax assessment. II. too, after all.
the Commissioners rate him at moro than he
likes, he has always the resource of removing
his residence TO some other State, whore the au-
tho-ities are moro lenient.
Undoubtedly. some residents Of the State, who
ought. IL the law were enforced against them, to
pay taxes upon their personal property, escape
altogether by their names not being known to
the Commissioners. and others escape in part
because their modest manner Of living does not
Indicate their real wealth. 1t was probably
with the idea of remedying this inequality that
the Comr issioners of last year took tho step
which they did, and which is giving the present
Commissioners so much trouble. They spread
out a drag net, as 1t were, with the idea that
they would hold permanently some Of the fish
who for the first time were caught in it. By
rating their victims, TOO, at enormous amounts
they probably, and with reason. expected that
these amounts. even when sworn down, would
still be larger than they would be on an official
estimate. They forgot, however. that. apart
from the m labor Of hearing and passing
upon s., 900 complaints of overassessment, their
scheme would work only once. Those who
suffer by its operation this year will take caro-
not To expose themselves to it next year. They
will either change the form Of their investments
or they will leave the State.
In New England and other parts of the Union.
The device has been adopted Of requiring from
every resident, once a year,, a sworn statement
Of his possessions. and his assessment for per-
sonal taxes is made up from tho information
thus obtained. In Ohio the information 10
sought not only by requiring this sworn state
ment but by Offering a reward to anybody who
will furnish evidence that it Is incomplete. A
taxpayer may be pursued In court for taxes
which he ought to have paid years before the
commencement Of proceedings against him. In
Ohio. too. the law imposes taxes upon corpora
lions, not according TO the property belonging
TO them within the State. but upon that outside
otit. and, TO avoid this imposition, the Adams
Express Company has recently distributed to
Its stockholders. in the form Of bonds. S12, 000,-
OO of its assets.
Under the most rigorous system the taxes col
iected from personal property are insignificant,
compared to those collected from realty. being
III this State only one eighth Of the whole. To
compensate for the loss thus apparently suf.
Tered al! sorts of expedients have been sug.
geSted. among which that OF 4 succession or
Inheritance tax has found the most favor.
though a tax upon Incomes has also many sup.
SN'%t ~ A"S 4hN Ah
heri'ance tax it is said that death reveals the
eAtent OF a mans possessions as no inquiry can
reveal it during his life and that thus his prop.
perry FOR once pays the tax he ought to have
paa on 1t during his life. This argument 10 de-
pct'Ee In that the tax falls alike upon property
winch is delinquent and that which Is not, and
upon property which was liable during its
owners lifetime and that which was exempt,
NJ dstinction being made between the two. AS
"Aa income tax, Just as 1t may be in theory, its
oonectioh involves an odious prying into per
s'hal afaiTs. and is so great an incentive to
perjury thar nothing short of the EXTREMIST
Aeees'lty Will ever reconcile our people to It.
nls' however, at least questionable. whether
inc amount OF personal property which escapes
taxation is SO great as it is supposed to be. and
whether, on the whole, as much Is not collected
nun II KS is collected from real estate In pro
portion TO It's true taxable value. The estimate
"hch Is often made that the personal property
"i'nih this State equals in amount the real prop
cry within it, IL based upon the illusion thai
"'hdS and mortgages and other evidences Of
ueo', shares in CORPORATIONS, interests In part
IU,s'4ps and similar sources Of gain. the owner
sn'pot which Constitutes wealth, are something
instinct tro" land and buildings and addi
'ou"' L" them. For example. the total o