The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-05-10


instead of dealing with assessment lists
shall determine every four years the
percentage of state tax each town shall
pay by dividing the sum of the revenue
of each town, including any city, Dor,
ough or village within the town, for the
four years ending on the first of the
I preceding October, by the sum of the
revenue of all the towns cities Dor
oughs and villages of the state for the
same period. They shall determine this
percentage of county tax In the same
manner. The comptroller shall give no
tice to the town clerk and to the county
commissioners of the proportion of state
and county tax each town shall be re-
quired to pay. The only further amend
ments to the existing law are to the
sections of the county law so that a
county tax shall be imposed upon the
towns in the proportion determined by
the state board of equalization, and an
amendment to section $685. which pro-
vides for the levy of the state tax. This
system of raising state and county rev.
enue is absolutely flexible, and at the
same time it fixes the responsibility for
town. county and state extravaganza,
and will certainly lead to economy of
administration.
INEQUALITY oF TOWN ASSESS
| MENTS OF REAL ESTATE.
1.-THE report of the labor bureau, from
| which l have already quoted, states that
there is most glazing inequality in the
assessment of real estate in some towns,
and the report furnishes the absolute
proof of this statement by giving tables,
for many towns throughout the state,
showing the value Of real estate as ap-
praised by the probate court and as as
sessed for taxation. In New Haven
several parcels were assessed at 100 per
cent and over of the value as appraised
by the probate court; some were assess
ed at under 80 per cent, and number
under 40 per cent. In other towns Of the
state even greater inequality is shown
than In New Haven.
There can be no greater injustice
than that one man should pay three
times as much as his neighbor. on prop
erty of the same value. But in add
ton to the personal injustice there Is
a still greater economic evil, for the re-
port states that Hundreds Of instances
inequalities in the assessments made In
some towns of what is known as I'M
improved property which, while of no
material value in so far as the capacity
for earning or rental power is concern
ed, yet the selling value Is known to
have been, and is, many times in excess
OF its valuation for purposes of taxa
ton
President Hadley forcibly condemns
this injustice in hts work on 'Econom-
les He says, The present practice of
assessors In this matter is great Illus
tration of the Interpretation of the
principle of taxation according to abil-
ity. The holder Of unimproved real es-
tate gets no apparent income from It;
he is. therefore, taxed on only a small
percentage of the market value Of the
property, while the owner OF improved
land must pay d correspondence heav-
Ter tax. This put premium on the
worst sort of land speculation. The
man who serves society is burdened;
the man who stands In the way and
tries to profit by others progress Is en-
couraged and helped
Wherever unequal assessments are
found it is almost certain that the worst
discrimination will be In favor OF un-
improved land. A little over year ago
an investiga ton was made in Stamford
which showed that unimproved land
was assessed at only third as much
as cheap residence property and only
one-haf as much as choice business
property The report on taxation in H.
~. = -t,~ I,pt t,,,i.
proved land was assessed at only one
third as much as cheap residences and
lat only half as much as business prop
erty, III,
This condition of affairs retards the
growth of cities and states and OPP
presses industry, but it cannot be char
acterized more foreiby than it has been
by President Hadley and by the report
of your labor commissioner.
REMEDIES FOR UNEQUAL ASSESS
MENTS.
The labor report published the recon-
mendations of the assessors of the state
and says that they are generally agreed
that assessors should have a longer
term, have more time to make assess
ments and receive a larger compensa-
ton. The plan is advocated of electing
board of three assessors, only one of
whom should retire from Office each
year, so that there would be always two
of the board who have exper-
ience Already several towns have
adopted this plan of electing assessors,
and are entirely satisfied with the
change" \
In the larger cities there should be
more assessors. In the city of Boston
real estate is probably more fairly as
sessed than in any other city in the
country They have nine assessors and
eighty-four assistants, making one as
SCISSOR for every six thousand of popula-
ton. If you had the same number In
New Haven in proportion to population
you would have sixteen assessors in
stead of five,
| have prepared an amendment to
section 81 which provides for uniformi-
ty throughout the state, so that by the
year 1903 every town will elect one as
SCISSOR annually to serve for three years
and, instead of taking office as soon as
elected his term shall begin on the 18th
day of April next succeeding his cleo
ton. The amendment also provides |
that when the population Of any town
exceeds ten thousand. the assessors of |
such town shall appoint not less than
one assistant assessor for each ten
thousand or major part thereof of such |