New-York tribune., 1911-01-14
Legislation Proposed.

Legislation Proposed.
Legislation is proposed that will provide
as follows;
That the true consideration Of every
deed mortgage and lease should he nlhu"
known to the assessor before such Is en-
titled 10 be recorded. ~
That in the assessment rolls Of all cities
there should be added column IN NIlCh
the value OF the land exclusive or improve
ments II any should be set down.
That the tax law should be amended 10
provide for equalization by county boaIun,,
That assessments In each county shoulH
he under the supervision OF a county su-
pervisor. who shall assist locaI assesSorS ,
and the state board in It's supervisor.
That the State Board OF Tax oiu'lllS-
Sloners should have authority ana pp"'I
to order reassessmCnt when necessary 10
accomplish the results desired.
That time be prescribed In which boards
Of supervisors shall report their equa"zd-
ton. ,., -. 90
That tax law should hc amended 10 re-
ot,ire eouaIizatlnn Of such assessment OF
special franchises by the state BoaIH "I
Tax commissioners after the oth'r aS5eSS .S5 -,
Jnents on the roll have been completed bE
tho locgl assessor and before the tax roli
is presented 10 tho Board OF SuperFlSoTs'
Amendment Of Section ls2 Of the tax Law
is suggested so that assessments there
under shall be made by a fixed mathe-
matical rule.
The subject OF tho afternoon session was
The Inheritance Tax Law Maulshy
Kimban OF Buffalo. attacked the present
tax as unjust" and In some cases "prar-
tically confscatory." II drove capital out
OF the state he maintained, and produced
comparatively little revenue Mr. Kimhal
urged the newly elected Legislator" 10 re-
wise the law Immediately.
Theodore Sutro of New York, chairman
Of the committee on taxation Df the Amer
ican Bar Association and former Tax Com
missioner. read paper on Double TAX
alton OF Inheritance" lie said that the IN
heritance tax law. though logical. was no
excuse for a law which amounted prac-
tically 10 coniscaton. As the idea Is TO
arrord revenue and not 90 driy" out prop
erty, the rate must be moderate He de-
clared the present law frequently resulted
IN a double taxation. which ig unjust.
Seiaman Secs Many Inequalities.
An urgent plea for uniformity OF taxation
Of corporations IN this state Wa made this
morning by Professor Edwin r 4. Sellg-
man. OF Columbia University, who said that
the present system was built on 10 pre-
conceived plan. and in consequence there
were many Inequalities Professor Sellg-
man said.
II there is any one lesson that may 10
learned from the practice OF our most ad-
that of the chief European states II II thai.
apart from the amendment Of real estate,
which ought. Of course, 10 10 source OF
local revenue, far better results VIII ne
..,l. ttsttf f.f,sV1 moth ~ as
easement OF corporations in the place OF the
diverse methods that We employ.
want 10 make plea for one step anH
for a preparation for this step through an
investigation into the single subject Of the
taxation OF corporations. More and more
business life I'm America Is assuming tho
form of corporate life and more and more
the problems OF the future arc to be cor
porate problems. Is Il not time 10 turn our
thoughts to this question and 70 demand a
careful consideration Of the three fuuda-
mental principles OF the fgture-equality Of
taxation, precision Of assessment and cor
relation between state and local taxation.
ANY one Of these three reforms II worth
fghtng for. but each Of the thre" Will be
more easy Of attainment II the other TWO
are kept IN mind. Let the next step be a
reform In the administration and underlying
principles OF the taxation OF corporations
The present manner OF taxing railroads
Is antiquatcd. unfair and expensive. accord
ing 10 Harrison Williams. general land and
tax agent OF the Erie Railroad. who also
spoke this forenoon. Hc urged tho drafting
Of an entirely new law on this subject Mr..
Williams believes that tho so-called Purdy
system OF taxing public service corpora
tions. which provides for one tax governed
by "A mathematical rule upon the profit dec
larations Of the company, both stock and
bond. offers tie best solution Of the dim
Guilty.