The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-11-12
IS
ADDED CITY
TAXING LIST

-
Eighteenth avenue. the strip on which
yesterdays opinion was rendered; the
D., L. and w. r.. r., SILT, $50 on the
station and other second-class prop
erty on Broad street, and the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad, $57,050, on a strip of
land thirty-fve feet wide and 1886 feet
long extending from the %southerly line
of Market street to the northerly line
of Hamilton street, and forming the
westerly line of the Pennsylvania Rail-
road, and depot platform of the Mar
ket street station and also a portion of
the depot stands on the tract in ques-
ton. 1t was on this strip that the
first mentioned opinion sustaining the
city was given yesterday.
This means that all the property
mentioned is subject to taxation for
last year, with fines for tardy payment,
at the local taz rate of last year, $1.72
on every 500 of ratables, and for this
year $1.69 on every 800.
All this property has been assessed
by the State Board of Assessors as
main-stem railroad property, and this
tax has been paid, but the city of New
ark taxed II locally as second-class
railroad property, and with the result
that the case has been hanging fire in
the courts since the assessments.
City Attorney Francis Child. jr., and
Special Counsel Herbert Boggs repre-
sented the city, and the question was
whether 1t was property taxable by the
State as main-stem property or by the
city as s~econd-class property, and the
opinion sustains the action of the city
taxing authorities in leyying for city
tax on the property in question.
Tho IN ilpnud fox art nf 12Rd Gno0i6nc
the class of property that shall be
known as first-class property. and pro-
vides that first and second-class prop
erty shall be assessed by the State
Board of Assessors, first-class at "a per
cent. and second-class at / per cent,
but this was amended in 1906 so that
the State Board assessed second-class
railroad property at the tax rate of the
municipality it was located in, but, as
the law now stands, the State Board
has nothing to do with the taxation
of second-class property. 1t is taxed
by and the payment made to each par
ticular taxing locality, in the same
manner other local taxes are assessed
and collected.
This means that Tax Receiver Robert
L. Ross will, under the law, receive
from the companies in question the
taxes IN the property covered by the
decision of the Supreme Court at the
prevalent tax rate last year, n will
| also receive the taxes for this year on
the property.
The companies in question have al
ready paid the State taxes m the prop
erty as main stem, which is a great
deal less than the local assessment, and
viii have to get a refund from the
State, and make up the difference to
pay the city for the property in ac-
cordance with the law as it now
stands.
The application of the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company, lessee Of the Belvl-
dere Delaware Railroad, for the sum-
nary determination of the taxation of
the Mil1ham, Bordentown and Enter
prise branches of the Pennsylvania in
this city, was denied, without preju-
dice to the company to file a new APP
plication. The branches We're assessed
by the Trenton assessors as second
class. The company holds they are
main-stem, and they were also as
sessed by the State Board of Assessors
as main-stem property. The city
stands to win or lose S160,s40 in rata
bles, according as the final decision
shall be for or against 1t.
The court also sustained an assess
ment made by the city of Passaic
against the Erie Railroad for paving
and curbing Main avenue adjacent to
its tracks. The railroad claimed that
its property was not benefited by the
! improvements.