The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-23


been much more rapid than that of real
| estate and that the value Of the personal
| property owned In the State is at least eguai
| TO II not more than the value Of the real
| estate He states that from $2.J0e cocoon 10
| S3o00000,o00 Of personal property. taxable
| by law, IN New YORK escapes taxation every
| year.
In an article published in the Forum in
| ance tax he takes 107 estates, which he says
| We're selected at random in the controllers
| office, and contrasts the amount OF APP
praised personal property found after death
| with the amount returned for taxation the
| year before death He says that OF this
! humber Of estates thirtv-four ranging in
value from $4,000 To over 81 100000. were as
| sessed the year before the decedents death
absolutely nothing These lQl estates dis
! closed personality at death 10 the aggregate
amount of $2l5, 1856. ana this enormous
L aggregate had the year before the
spective deaths OF the owners Sa sie ,,5 oeem as
1 per cent. of the actual value of the prop
| erty.
WHERE TAX LAWS ARE WEAK.
In 1874 the Board of State Assessors OF
New York reported to the Legislature as
| follows: From our examinations we are
satisfied that less than Is per cent of the
personal property of the state liable to tax
alton finds place on the rolls of the asses
sor. The amount of personal prop
erty assessed in some of the counties is
less than the banking capital, and the same
| is true of thirty towns and Cities among
which are some of the most prosperous in
| the State.''
In 1882 the Tax Board said: Laws for
the assessment of personal property have
failed to do their work. and the failure be
comes more complete aud more unjust with
| every successive year
The Tax Commission of Massachusetts,
| which reported to the Governor rev
months ago, shows that the total Nafuatlon
| OF real estate IN that State Tor taxation
was, in 1896, 81 040 200. 644, and the total valu-
alton of personal property assessed III the
same year was $5S2,3l9 6S4-about one
| fourth.
AS to the tax upon securities. or intangible
| property. as it is called, the commission
| says: Sin each of the cities few persons
! of unusual conscentiousness make returns.
| Such persons are. accordingly, taxed fully.
| and as rule, much more heavily thi1n
| their less conscientious neighbors
| From the testimony which assessors have
| that sometimes sworn statements are false
| ~ made, and that perjury s added for the
sake of evading or reducing taxation"
Concluding the discussion upon this sub
| ject the majority of the commissioners
say: That the great bulk of Intangible
property taxable by law is not reached is
admitted on all hands. 1t is proved beyond
! doubt by the sensitive records of the stock
and bond market Securities of all kinds,
| taxable in Massachusetts but not taxable
! in New York and in other States, are pub
| licly bought and sold every day at the
| same prices in the different markets. TX
| taxed according 20 law, III Massachusetts,
| at q rate of from l to liz per cent of their
| selling value, lney cOulQ not possibly conf
| mand the price in Massachusetts which
| they command in other States; nor could
| they be sold side by side with shares in
| Massa chusettS corporations, or with mort
| gage loans, at such prices as to yield about
| the same interest on the same investment.
| solidity and yielding the same income are
| sold side by side with no material difference
| in quotations. whether they are taxable or
| and sold every day not on the basis of be-
| ing taxed in fact but only on the basis or
| some incalculable and dsregarded possi-
| bility of their being reached by taxation.
gentleman of prominence, residing IN
| one of the smaller towns of New England,
| recently told me that there had resided in
| his town for many years a gentleman VINO
| was reputed to be wealthy, whom he sup
posed to be worth perhaps a million dol
| lars, and who was assessed for 100000 He
| died, and when his personal property was
| scheduled by his executor it was found TO
| amount to about 5000, 00O-if l recall the
! figures accurately-and, when this property
went upon the assessment roll of the town,
words, this gentleman. living in neighbor!y
| relations to his fellow-citizens and dis
| charging, apparently, with kindness all of
the obligations of citizenship, had been
every year of his residence in the town de-
| fraudipg his neighbors by compelling them
to contribute to the public expense share
/ that he should, in honesty and in good con
| science, have discharged. He was fiiching
from every hand that was extended to him
| in neighbory confidence. His aims were
| of other mems goods.
| OTHER INSTANCES.
/ "A newspaper report of addresses by the
advocates of the single land tax to some
| Massachusetts tax assessors contains some
| extreme but interesting statements. a
! prominent New York lawyer is reported to
| have spoken with an amazing frankness as
to his personal and professional participa-
ton in tax evasion, thus: '"rhey maintain
a system which is worth a great deal of
money to me, and in these hard times every
| 7
they save me in taxes and how much they
| put into my pocket by the maintenance OF
| their system of taxes ] feel grateful to
| them. / feel grateful to the Western farm
| ers, because they pay my taxes 1T Is not
| necessary for me TO tell lies in New York
| to get rid OF this taxation; It needs nothing
| but little clever management. | manage
| it for many of my clients One of them Is
Il clergyman's widow, who would no more
| tell lie than anything in the world, but
| ] have so managed her property as gradual
ly to reduce it, until this year l got her
The Appeal Tax Court of Maryland re-
| spending TO an inquiry from the Tax Com
| mission of that State. In 1881, said: We
| utterly fail in reaching private securities OF
| any description. Here and there only have
they been returne' by some conscientious
| holders"
The report of the Revenue Commission of
| Illinois, of 1856, dscloses that practically
the same state of things exists in your
| State. Indeed so glazing and outrageous IS
| this Withholding OF personal property IRON
/ the tax list, and - inequalities between
| the counties of ate resulting from
| this practice that ice the Labor Com
! mission of Illinois nmends the abandon
| ment of the attic, ,. to collect taxes upon
| personal property. The statements at
| trbuted by the Bureau of Labor, in their
| report, to eminent citizens of Chicago, as
| to tax conditions here, are appalling.
| Professor Bemis. in a recent letter in the
| Independent, speaking Of affairs here in
| illinois, and of some revelations made by
| your Tax Payers Defense League, makes
| a comparison between the commercial
| agency ratings and the tax list and gives
| this instance: "A certain banker, srated by
| Bradstreet's among the millionaires, Is as
CONTINUED on Fifth Page3