New-York tribune., 1901-11-19
SPECIAL TAX EXEMPTIONS.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PRE-
VENTS MORE-COURT OF APPEALS
DECISION REvOKES PRIOR ONES

The canvass Of the vote the constitutional
amendment at the recent election has proceeoed
far enough to show that the amendment is car
ried as told in The Tribune yesterday. AS here
tofore stated in The Tribune. the effect OF the
amendment will he 10 prevent the passage OF
special acts by the legislature to exempt prop
-rty from taxation Tax officials have declared
that the amendment does not revoke or lnVah-
date any special acts already passed MOST OF
Ehe special acts exemptng property, they say
rxere made useless by amendments TO the gen
sral lar in 1895, when the law was made broad
enough to cover nearly all property exempt
from taxation in the State. The Tax Law de-
-lares that property of the United states the
state OF New-York and municipal property shall
not be assessed for taxation. and says in section
=, subdivision Z:
The real property Of corporation or association ion
hrovement of men worner or fer reIglous, biplf
snfrmary educational. scientific. literary. library
patriotic historical cemetery purposes or for le
aIeI m @ fr ~ ont therempon one or more
such corporation association shall be exempt
from taxation.
Officials in the Department Of Taxes and AS
easements said yesterday that the general law
wa. supposed to cover all property that deserved
10 be exempt from taxation, but there were g
few cases in which special laws exempted prop
srty not covered by the general law one such
special law, the officials say. exenlpts property
of ST. Lufe's Hospital which is not occupied for
hospital purposes bui consists of business oulld-
sngs and dwelling houses which yield large
annual rental to the hospital Other hospitals
have tc pay taxes property owned by theiii
and rented out and exempt from taxation
only on the property which il occupied eHclu-
eively for hospital purposes.
s'The fact is" said one of the officials. that
t.uder the special law ST Iukes Hospital enjoys
G. privilege which the other private institutions
of tha city do not have, and the exemption from
taxation on business and dwelling property not
used for hospital purposes cannot be granted to
any other institution by a special act now lz .na'
The constitutional amendment has been passed.
The legislature could amend the general Law,
Df ;t could revoke the Special law by Which 81
sluke's Hospital is particularly favored
THE building of the Young Mems Christian
Association at Fourth-aye- and Twenty-third-st
Is entirely exempt from taxation. although
parts of the building are rented to business
firms and yield handsome income to the aSso-
citation The American Tract Society's building
EFT Spruce and Nassau sts., and the Methodist
Book Concern and Presbyterian buildings. at
Fifth-ave. and Twentieth-st, are only parity
exempt from taxation under the general law
Those parts OF thc buildings which are rented
TO business firms assessed for taxation, and
only those parts OF the buildings which are used
exclusively for the purposes of the societies
owning the buildings are exempt from taxation
The general law does not exempt from taxa
tion buildings which occupied as churches
but not owned by the church corporations
There have been some special acts of the legfs-
,ature exe,npting buildings leased to church
societies. These acts are not revoked by the
constitutional amendment, but no more such
special acts can be passed
Apparently at variance with the opinion of
the tax officials is the opinion handed down by
the Court of Appeals on November u. revers-
ing the decision of the Appellate Division Of the
Supreme Court that Charles P. Huntington's
beouests OF $4,000 each to the Roosevelt Hos
pi1al and the Chidren's Aid Society were exempt
from the transfer tax and affirming the decision
OF the same court that his like bequests to the
New-york Society for the Relief OF the Ruptured
and Crippled and the American Female Guard
Ian Society and Home for the Friendless should
he exempt from the tax. The Court OF
Appeals quotes the Tax Law exenpting institu-
tions from general taxation. and declares that
institutions whose property is exempt from gen.
eral taxation subject 10 payment of the
transfer tax legacies received by them, be-
cause ii the purpose of Chapter $50 OF the
Laws of 1900 that the exemptions from taxa
ton under the general law should not include
the transfer tax. Then the Court Of Appeals
gives the opinion that hospitals and other in
stitutions no longer exempt from taxation
except under the provisions Of the general law
quoted. saying:
The Tax Law Of 1895 is a revision OF. and sub
sttute for ali former statutes general and special
upon the subject of exemption from taxation. 1;
eupersedes and Tepeais, by Implication ali charters
and special acts. so far as they are inconsistent
ties and the like longer exempt from taxa
ton except under the provisions Of Section T. sub
division z, Of the Tax Law
This decision would TO wipe out the
special exemption from taxation enjoyed by ST
Iuke's Hospital and the Young Mems Christian
Association property not used exclusively
for the purposes Of the corporations. and to con-
Hne all exemptions from taxation TO the opera
tion OF the general tax law.
94KE STpF2TOP COMPANY ARSOPPTYON