Perth Amboy evening news., 1905-01-07
ATTORNEY GENERAL
ON TAX QUESTION
Mr.. McCarter'S Views Freely Ex-
pressed Before The State
Commission.
QUESTION OF STATE REVENUE

The following address was delivered
hy the Hon. Robert McCartcr, attorney
general Of New Jersey, before the
equal tax commission:
Csentlemen-A communication from
your secretary, dated the 18th day Oh
December. invited me Ito be present III
this meeting Of the New Jersey t'A
commission to present the question OIL
taxation to the commission from the
states point OF view | had previous
ly received a request from the govern
CT that | should accept sucl an llNlth-
ton should it be extended, ana Sllail
therefore avail myself of TINS oppOrtu-
nity to draw t. your attention one
phase of the interesting and Important
subject YOU have under Intelligent coh-
sideration which perhaps has not Deeh
prominently before your minds, put
which is of the greatest Importance.
use the word perhaps" adviSedly, be-
cause [ have not had the opportunity
of attending amy of your previous SEES
sions, nor have even read Il complete
report Of your proceedings. | nave,
however. i'll some way become pos
sesscd of the idea that suggestions
have been made to You looking 10 Il
change in the present method Of apply
inc so much of the Ike upon railroad
property us now constitute IN impor-
tant part of the revenue of tn" state
into other channels. and my only pUr-
pose in what | shall now say will be TO
protest in the most vigorous manner
possible against the adoption of amy
such course. The sum received by the
state for state purposes from raIIoadS
and canals in the year 1903 was %W''-
g}4. Il. or less than $1,000 ia excess 81
the amount received from the same
source of supply by the local comnlnhi-
ties, while the state expenditures nave
increased fully fourfold between those
years.
Railroads have. as | shall point out,
from the time of their organization
been the one ource consistently rcliPI
on by the state for its necessary rove
nuc. and while the increase in popula-
ton and in the accompanying demands
of an Intelligent pe0pl" nave added TO
our state eXpehd lures. :" that III the
year l9D3 they reached me sun OF
$4.ll7.SoO. the funds to meet these out
laws 40 far aS railroads are coslcerled
have practically remained ut a stand
still. This result was brought about, of
course. not because there has been no
increase in tho amount paid BY the
railroads in tAat time. but because
practically all ithat increase has been
applied to the municipalities II NOT to
the state. 1t is my irm belief that the
time has cOmt to cali n halt and to in
Slst that no further inroads shall be-
made upon the states revenue from
railroads. unless the people OF This state
are ready to- step back twenty-five
wears and cOntribut" from Their midi
vidual purses toward Il state tax.
Railroads began to be chartered in
the decade between 1880 and $50
Previous to tl&pt time the expenses of
the state hal, been very nhr'tl ANA
were met by the imposition ot state
taxes. the receipts from fines, tntipii-
ures, etc. The prosperity that imnnr
diatply followed the Introduction "i
transportation by steam brought with
it increasing expenses, ANA IN" state
promptly imposed upon the railroads.
to which ii gave valuable franchises.
including the power To exercise the
right of eminent domain. the duty of
having TO the state for state Purposes
an annual tax of some kind indcpcai-
ent of and without regard to thr reVe
nue. required by the local mUniripali
ties. 1t is believed that NOT Il single
charter was granted TO Il railroad ON
pany that did not contain some proNi-
sion of that kind. There WAS then no
constitutional provision requiring tax
eS TO be assessed upon the true ValuC
of property. and hence we find that
many of Tx" companies were by their
charters required TO pay TO the state
for state purposes an annual tax based
unOn the cost of the road. Others
again were compelled 70 pay Il percent
age Of their receipts from the carriage
of passengers and freight or Il transit
duty. and | have been able to. find but
four charters out of several score that
| have examined III which local taXa-
ton of railroad property was provided
for. and in each of these it was only
permitted while the companies were
constructing their roads and before
they were operating them, and in prac-
tically all of them the taxes thus i'm
posed were expressly stated to be in
lieu Of all other taxes whatever. While
Il diversity in the method Of imposing
taxes thus existed, an entire uniform
ity obtained in the application of the
proceeds of the assessment to state
purposes. In 1857 legislature sought
by the act abolishing transit dutic; TO
secure Il like uniformity in method Of
imposition by substituting Il require
mcnt that the roads pay to the state a
percentage on their cost and requiring
sworn statements from officials to he
annually presented to the state. In
1873 the general railroad law was
passed. in the nineteenth section of
which there was a provision for Il state