New-York tribune., 1903-01-01
JUSTICE GAYNoR's TAXES.
Assessment on Him as Trustee Could Not Be
Paid
To the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor of The Tribune
Sir: In a recent issue of The Tribune there was
a report in the news columns of my having failed
to pay personal taxes. levied against me By the
city of New-York for several years past, and that
had been sued therefor by the city. My attention
has been called TO similar statements III another
newspaper. 1 do not find fault with newspapers
for publishing them without fnquifng OF me II theS
are true, because tracing them to their source
I have found that they were given out ofhc!ahy'
I ask room for line say that the city OF New
York has levied any personal tax against me
in the five years of its existence. and tnat am
not liable to such tax During the lour years
of the first administration of the city, however
personal tax was levied against as trustee,
without specifying any estate or trust AS am
trustee of several estates, it was therefore PLAINLY
impossible to tell which estate was INTENDED anu
my attorneys who have charge of such matters
could not and did not pay the tax out OF any es
tate for it is against estate
I am told however that there appears on the
tax books of the old city of Brooklyn TWO years
before it became part OF New-Y ORR CITY d sHiaii
personal tax against my name DO not no" 70
member of ever having heard of it before or OF
ever having called upon TO pay II at the li'e'
Nor do I know that it is legally laid against me
individually. 1 do know that 1 was liable 10 no
personal tax
Many of my neIghbors and friends who are not
liable to personal taxation have during the tas'
year spoken to Of dunning letters received 'y
them from an assistant corporation counsei. anu
of suits brought against them by him. Tor slliii"i
stale personal taxes levied under the four years
of Mayor Van Wyck's administration UNDER
stand tens of thousands have been treated IN lhe
same way This is all done under section OF the
charter which makes 1t discretionary to bring sucn
suits The section is not new, but is taken from
the old charter. Such suits were never prousHl
wholesale before. Why should a suit be proushI
To collect out of mans real estate personal tax
which cannot be collected out of his personal prop
ertv bv the collector of taxes or his marshaI uf-
der their seizure warrant, for the sufhclent reaSoll
that he has no personal property liable to the TAX
or to be seized therefor? Is not real estate taeo
enough already?
Did any one ever take the trouble 10 coun. up
or estimate the number of good intelligent citzehS
who have been driven to take up nominaI VOTING
residences outside of the city in order 70 escape
this constant annoyance about personal taxateh
Among my neighbors and acquaintances Kho" u
a good number. and feel certain that their total
number throughout the city is more than large
enough to control in city election Where tne
question of honest intelligent government Is upper
most if they were permitted to stay here as voters
The present administration was voted III NANNY
bv citizens who had been wronged and oppressed III
their persons and houses by those who hao ruleo
and directed the police, and by citizens VINO hdu
been reckessly and unjustly subjected 10 perSol"i
taxation in order to temporarily lower the rate oi
real estate for political effect suppose the cof
recton of these two great abuses will be accom-
plshed before it goes cut, though some say theg
are far greater now than when it came in
prnottyn Dec n 1902 W. ]. GAYNOR.