Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1909-12-13
COUNTY TAX BOARD
UPHOLOS CITY LEVY
ON BANK STOCKS
Fight to Reduce Assessments
Fails, but Petitioners Will
Carry on Struggle.

Acting on the briefs submitted and
the argument heard some time ago, the
County Board of Taxation today up
held the city authorities on the ques-
tion of the assessing of bank stock for
taxation, and those interested will now
appeal TO the State Board of Taxation.
It was agreed by the local Tax Board
this afternoon to send the follow
ing notice to the interested holders OF
bank stock. in view OF its decision:
After having listened to argument
in the case of your appeal and
given the subject careful considera-
tion. the Essex County Board Of
Taxation has decided that the bank
stock held by you is not assessed
too high. and, therefore. the appeal
will be dismissed. it being the judg-
lnent of the County Board that
bank stock should be assessed at
the market value as Of May 20
one effect of the decision is to assess
the Plume holdings at s72a.5e, while
stock held by Adrian Riker. on which
there was also an appeal, which was
assessed at $685. a share, will be cut
to s12.20 a share, or total Of s42I, the
market value OF his stock.
During the middle OF last month sew
eral petitions were presented to the To-
cal board for reductions in assessments
and about the same time Noah Gutter.
secretary of the city's tax board, act
ing as a private citizen" SO he said
i'm his petition, asked for a reassess-
ment of the holdings of certain owners
of stock of the Union National Bank
and other banks. The Gutter appeal
was made on the ground that the as
sessments made for this year were less
than the true value of the stock, based
upon what that stock would bring al
a fair sale in the market.
At the hearing of November 10 last
fiye petitions for reductions in assess
rnents were presented TO the board py
Joseph w. Plume, of the Manutac-
turers' National Bank; Henry W.
Tunis. of the National Newark Banking
Company; Archibald w. ConlSlin, OF
the Union National Bank; w. Camp
bell Clark. Of the Essex County Ma
tional Bank, and the estate OF j. ii.
Rallantine. Some time afterward Ed-
ward d. Duffield, counsel for DR.. Leslie
d Ward. of the Prudential Insurance
Company, who is one of those against
whom the Gutter petitions are directed
submitted briefs.
In answering the appellants, WhS
claim that they have been over-as-
sessed on their bank shares, City Az
torney Herbert Boggs made no point
OF the action of the city taxing board
in denying the claim OF the banks tha'
bank-notes are a liability and therefort
-assessable. He based his whoie ar
guu1ent on the right to assess on tn'
true value of the shares. the basis OF
which. in his view, is the market value
i'm contradistinetion to the claim OF thS
banks that the true value is that WhlcI
is shown on their books and MADE III
Of the mar value of the stock added tt
the surplus and undivided profits. Il
was also contended by Mr. Boggs thai
the so-called book value does not neces'
sarily show the real value of the stock
but is arbitrary and depends upon th'
method of bookkeeping of the particu-
lar bank.
The assessed valuation in $50 share:
of the Essex County Bank, held by
Mr.. Clark. was $s,s7s and he asked fo'
it's reduction TO $4,2sS; that of Mr.
Tunis. of the National Newark Banking
Company. % shares. was s2.2O1.25, and
he asked that IL be cut down to 81.
$50. so. Archibald w. Conklin, of ths
Union National Bank. wanted his ter
shares of that bank assessed at $s2S-so
instead of s1o6a9o while Joseph w
Plume, OF the Manufacturers Bank
who holds 150 shares. asked for a re-
duction from sls.5e7 to s2,s2S.
Tho estate OF John II. Ballantine
which holds 100 shares OF the Manufnc-
turers' Bank. 52S shares Of the ESSEX
County Bank. and lo5 shares of ths
National Newark Banking Company
sought reduction from so2.7lo.75 e
S2s.S14.4s.