Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-09-23
TAX LIENS ON PROPERTY.
Matters Should Be Arranged So That
 City Would Not Lose.

|
 City Would Not Lose.
 Monday nights session of the board | of aldermen brought out some interest Ing remarks relative to abatements of
 city taxes, but after all there was noth- ing new in what was said and proby ply it will be forgotten in a few days
 and things will drag along in the old
 way without anybody taking the in
 itiatfve towards putting a. stop to what
 everybody who has given the matter
 any consideration knows to be rank injustice. Alderman Filling said he had no objection to seeing taxes abated upon lold folks who had prac-
 tically no equity in their homes, but he
 didn't think 1t fair for the city to
 make practice of excusing people from paying taxes who had an equity of several thousand dollars in their
 property, all of which will go to their heirs bye and bye. He thought 1t would be a good plan to defer action in the case of people who represent that they are too poor to pay and put l lean on the property for the amount and have the sum total collected when ever the estate is being settled up
 That's the trouble,'' chimed in Mir Iois1hOSiCc. LaG ldW was not so that the collector has to collect all taxes that are not abated we could put liens on the property and allow them to remain there until the property
 changed hands; probably that is what
 would be done with nine -tenths of the petitions for abatements that come be- l fore the city government; but If you try to do things that way you find yourself checkmated by charter pro- vision so that there is no alternative unless you want to turn old people into the street. If there is any way in the world to kill off old folks in hurry and get them out of the way 1t 1 is to turn them out of their homes and send them to the town house. For
 my part I should be very much pleased to see the law changed so that we could put liens on property for taxes and let them stay there with the un- derstanding that the money would come to the city in time instead of letting go of it altogether"
 l Alderman Filling: Tt is great in- 1 justice to abate taxes for one man and compel his next door neighbor, l who has not any more earning capaci- ty, to pay. It creates bickerings and
 jealousies and prompts many to con
  to say the least, in dealing with such questions. It is good way for young
 people to save money by having the old folks figure as paupers before the city government for years. and then l after they die the children step in and reap all the benefits. These taxes should stand against the property as an asset to the city. and under such
 an arrangement it would be impossible for the heirs to take possession of what was coming to them until the 1 bills were paid and the liens released. I think if this were done you would have less applications for abatements l of city taxes
 Alderman Beach: 'Tsn't 1t pretty l hard to expect this board to abate taxes on property in which the peti- l tioner has an equity of $4.500 or $5,- 900? The claim that the children are
 no good should not count for anything 1 in case of this kind. You will find 1 that no matter how little they did to maintain the home, they will be on l hand 10 get their share out of it when the old folks die and the estate Is being l settled up. Why shouldn't back taxes
 be looked upon as accounts to be
 squared up before heirs get possession? l don't think it is right to abate taxes 1 for old people who are sure to pass I away in 8 few years and leave valua- l b1e property to their children, no mat l ter whether they are good or bad. l Isn't 1t enough to make a man mad who is struggling to meet all his oblt- gations when he sees his neighbOrs Eget out of paving on the ground of
 poverty, especially when he knows that l there Is no real merit in the claim Of the man who is not paying?''
 There was a good deal more said on the question. but curiously enough l 1t was dropped without any move | being made toward asking the city at
 torney to prepare a bill and have 1t l passed at the next session of the gen eraI assembly covering the whole mat ter. The subject has been aired be- fore and while everybody wanted to
 see the law changed still nothing has
 ever been done towards doing it. The
 papers don't say much about these tax abatements, but seeing the subject
 received so much attention Monday l night it might not be amiss to remark right here that some arrangeme ent l should be reached which will enable l the city to defer action upon the co1- l lection of taxes on estates which are l not self-supporting until they are being
 distributed and let the taxes be col
 lected. This would put the old people l in a position to do business at the old l stand as long as they lived. but would head off heirs who are willing to see l sthe old man or the old lady" pose as a pauper before the aldermen, from making capital out of their ingratitude
 and small ways. Nobody objects to
 the abatement of taxes where the
 claims are, honest, but everybody kicks l against it when 1t is a clear case of
 saving money for heirs of the so-called l paupers. The idea! Why, the chill
 dren of many men whose names are on
 the collectors books as paupers would not believe 1t, and it Is doubtful if some of them are aware that the old l folks are masquerading as objects of l charity for the sake of a few dollars