The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1906-08-21

While the making of assessment
continue to be as heretofore the dut
OF the assessors and local boards
taxation OF each taxing district tn
Legislature placed upon you the dut
OF seeing that the tax laws are hol
estly and fairly executed as betWes
different taxing districts, that eau;
taxation may be realized
You are to deal with what next {
life and limb is most sacred RICH
namely, that of property. The powe
OF taxation is practically the powe
OF confiscation. Through exorbitan
tax rates or through bonded indebted
ness private property can be take
without compensation for public use
Every bond issued by a municipaIit
mortgages the property of individual
and pledges that property as securit,
Tor the payment of the obligation.
Where municipal Indebtedness, TO
example, amounts to 10 per cent
every piece of property in that mum
clpality is pledged to pay oDe-tenth o
It's value. This must, of course. b,
paid through the imposition of taxes
Unless, therefore, the taxing power i:
exercised fairly and judicially, priyat,
property may be confiscated.
Whatever effects the taxing of prop
erty in any way, either in the law OF
In the execution of the law, is of vita
Importance to the owner thereof. IL
this connection it should be made
clear that the creation of your boarC
made no change IN the tax laws.
They were not modified by the las
/ ,nOic atIIrO rrifh hut
namely, the law affecting the taxation
OF railroad property and the act gov
erning the tax rates.
The Legislature provided that al
second-class property of railroads
should be assessed locally and taxed
as heretofore at the local rates, pro
ceeds of the taxes to go to the loca
treasures.
Another act reclassified railroad
property so that all passenger sta
tons, terminals, switches and all rail
road property outside of the so-oalleC
main STEM, are now included In sec
ond-class property, materially increas
ing the amount of such property thai
will be assessed by the local authori
ties at the local rates.
The main stem of the railroad
which now consists of the bare right
OF way, which is limited to no one
municipality or county, but which ira
verses the state and is supported BY
the patronage of all sections of the
state, is taxed for the benefit of the
school system which all citizens will
enjoy in common.
1t is estimated that large increase
in revenue will be derived from this
source. This should be used for the
payment of local taxes in a cores
ponding reduction of the taxes now
paid by individuals, and in order that
this increased revenue may mare to
the benefit OF the taxpayer rather
than prove temptation to extraya-
CANT expenditure, the Legislature pro
vided that tax rates should be reduc-
ed from year to year in various locali-
ties until they reached a certain maxi
mum figure.
With this exception, no changes
were made in the laws affecting tax
alton, either as regards the disclosure
or listing of property or the valuation
thereof
The laws on this subject today are
precisely the same laws under which
property has been taxed in previous
years.
In the exercise of your duties you
are to see that uniformity and equality
prevail in taxation; that all kinds of
property are treated exactly alike and
that every one has perfectly
square deal" 1t is not within your
nrnVinnn 10
amount of the tax depends upon the
municipal expenditure. 1t is the con-
tribution which property makes to the
common burden of expense.
If municipal expenditure increases.
taxes increase. If municipal expen-
diture is reduced, taxes are likewise
reduced. Increase of valuation if they
are fairly and equitably made, do not
increase the amount of the contribu-
lions which are to be made to public
expense, except in the case of those
properties that have been under val.
ued as compared with other proper.
ties, or have escaped taxation alto
gether.
OF course, if some Individual
through favoritism or through con
cealment of the property, has been
escaping his just share of the taxes,
then in the proper execution of the
law, where every man is to be treated
exactly alike such an individual would
probably pay an increased amount of
taxes.
That increase, however, would only
be rightful payment which should have
hpQn made hprQfnfOro h11f iob
has been wrongfully avoided. The in
dividual who, through any method
whatsoever, either by favoritism or
by cOncealment of wealth has escaped
his rightful share of the common bur-
den of taxation, has practically with
held from the public treasury moneys
that are due to it from him, and has
had the benefit of unlawful rebates
which have not been accorded to his
fellow-men.
If, in the proper execution of the
law, such individuals, if there be any,
should consequently pay taxes on
terms of equality with every other ia
dividual or property owner, just as
the national Government is now COM
pelling all shippers to pay equal
freight rates without rebates or draw
backs, such adjustment of taxation
through your Offices cannot be claimed
to be in the nature of an increase, but
rather the remedy of a wrong.
All property, whether of corpora
tions or Of individuals, should be
treated exactly alike. This is equal
tax. An honest man demands no more
and will be satisfied with no less.
In the supervising power which you
will exercise over those whose duty u
is to assess property and determine
valuations, you have but one guide,
namely, the Constitution and the law,
SO far as the principle of valuation rs
concerned, the Constitution deter
mines that, and that mandate has
been in existence since 1875.
Those who will be inclined to com
plain of the assessors for obeying
their oath of office in taxing property
according to the constitutional provi
sion, will have their quarrel not with
the taxing authorities, but with the
Constitution itself, which fixes the
standard of valuation. This, if obey
ed, guarantees to every property own
er the equal protection of the law.
When violated by the substituting
therefor of some other standard the
property owners are at the mercy
of favoritism and the varying opin
ions of the taxing officials. All prop
erty should be equally valued and as
sessed. When tax rates are reduced
all property will share in the reduc
ton.
The necessity for uniformity an,
equalization OF valuations of taxabl
property needs no defense. Where dill
ferent properties in the same taxin
districts are contributing to the sam
common burden here different taxin
districts are contributing to the sam
county tax, and where the differen
counties are contributing to one an
the same state school tax, it is man
testify unfair that these properties
any of these cases should be unequal
assessed.
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