New-York tribune., 1903-11-23
country had first been strengthened by strictly
independent action for a few years?
MORTGAGES AND TAXES.

Real estate interests report great difficulty In
securing loans ON bond and mortgage. The
mortgages recorded in this city so far In l9o5
are over $4,000 600 less than in the same period
last year The two chief loaning instltuuons'
aside from savings banks and insurance COM
panies. report decided falling on In mortgage
investments for private individuals, TO whom
the mortgages which they take are largely sold
This decrease is said TO be seriously hamperinS
builders and is likewise seriously interfering
with real estate investments and with the facili-
ties for home making.
The general scarcity of money for investment
on account of losses i'm the stock market is
doubtless partly the cause of this. Then the
low price of many sound securities makes them
an unusually attractive investment for those
who have money to put out. But without ques-
zion growing dissatisfaction with the tax laws
IS also an influential reason for the reluctance
of investors 10 loan money on real estate. We
hear this on every hand. Men who used as
matter of course TO put out large sums on bona
and mortgage have ceased TO do So a Iew
years ago a woman or anybody else not IN ac-
tive business and wishing a conservative IN
vestment thought the first thing Of buying
mortgage: but this is the case no more. People
are afraid of having their income cut in two by
the tax gatherer. Attempts-perfecdy proper
and right In themselves-to enforce personal
tax law which becomes more unjust the more
strictly Il is enforced have made all persons
and institutions subject TO personal taxes afraid
Of mortgages.
And with good reason. couple Of years ago
our tax rate here was nearly 21a per cent. That
meant half the income from a per cent mort
gage The person whose savings for old age
had been put i'm a mortgage found himself sub
N
of his class were the ones chiefly caught by this
levy for active business men with running
debts were able 10 secure exemption. In Eng
land an income tax of shilling in the pound,
or < Der cent is considered a grievouS war
burden: and a much smaller United States In
come tax with liberal exemptions to small prop
erty owners. aroused bitter opposition. The
Low administration. if it has accomplished no
other good with its reduced tax rate, has made
personal taxation of income bearing securities
less outrageous; but it is still an income tax OF
from % 10 81 per cent and of necessity as I'M
lust as ever in that il is hit or miss levy, tax
ING all the personal property of some and none
of the personal property Of others vastly bet
ter off.
Every session Of the legislature for several
years has played with this question and done
nothing. 1t is high time that some reform was
double taxation. Its value will inevitably suffer
with increasing difficulty i'm borrowing on it.
Assurance that the money invested in real estate
would be subject 10 only one tax would make
mortgages much more attractive and put at the
command of home buyers large sums OF ready
money The right way is totally to abolish
mortgage taxation. If that cannot be accom-
plished on account Of prejudice and misinfor-
nation, then recording tax on mortgages. such
as Governor Odell proposed two years ago, would
secure a substantial measure of relief 1t is
now over FIVE years since joint committee OF
the legislature made an exhaustive report con-
demning for injustice the present personal tax
law 1t is distinctly discreditable TO the Empire
State that in all that time though our tax laws
have been repeatedly modified in other drec
tions. no reform has been made along the lines
where it was long ago agreed reform was most
needed