Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1912-11-27
TAX BOARD UNF AIR,
NUTLEY COMPLAINS
County Body Jumped Valua-
tiOns Unnecessarily, State
Commission Hears.
NO MEMBERS PRESENT
TO ANSWER ALLEGATIONS
Commissioner John L. Carroll
Explains Methods Used
in Newark.

board had jumped its valuations a
quarter of a million dollars without
even visiting the town. A. R. Carr,
representing the Nutley Town Com
mission, made the charge.
'Will the member of the county
board answer" queried Senator Carl
ton B. Pierce. of Union, president of
the investigators.
There was no response, whereupon
John L. Carroll, president of the
local tax board announced that no
member of the county tax board was
present because the board had set
down this morning to the hearing of
an appeal on the taxation of the
Sacred Heart Cathedral.
After hearing further argument
Senator Pierce again asked for a
member of the county board, and
there being no answer the president
asked that he be informed of the
entrance of any county commissioner.
He commented that the statements
indicated discrimination against Nut
ley in relative municipal valuation
ratios.
The commission was anxious to
hear from the county board, since to-
days Is the last hearing to be held
by the commission in its Statewide
quest for information before urging
taxing reform. When the session
ends at the City Hall this afternoon,
hearings will have been held in twen-
ty-one counties.
After declaring poll and personal
taxes illogical and unjust Mr.. Carr
argued for a home-rule method of
taxation which would prevent such
action as was taken by the county
board against his home town. He
argued that local officials familiar
with local values are more capable of
adjusting questionable assessments.
In the case of the county addition
of quarter Of q million to Nutleys
assessed valuation, Mr.. Carr said, the
action was taken without consulting
the Nutley assessor or visiting Nut
ley.
Surprise was then expressed that
the county board does not hold ap-
peal hearings in municipalities when
information was given that all ap-
peals were heard at the county court
house.
Former Secretary Thomas B. Usher,
of the State Tax Board, asked the
speaker if, in his opinion, property
had been assessed beyond it's true
value. Mr., Carr said that was his
opinion, but later admitted to Sem
q tnr piaYon haf ho ,f
ment was about 80 per cent. of the
true value of property.
Assessor Brown, of Nutley, told of
his method of assessing and held that
property adjoining in Passaic County
was taxed at d lower figure proper
tionately than in Nutley.
Samuel Silberberg, of Nutley, gave
an instance of the county boards
levy. He showed that lot abutting
on his residence site had been as
sessed at $1,250, although his home
site lot was valued at but $100. He
was told to appeal for readjustment.
That the assessment of personality
in the county varied from to 26
per cent. was an assertion made by
George l.. Rusby in talking on the
inequality of taxation. He approved
of the home rule method or unit
system and favored regulation by
new laws.
Senator Pierce then dwelt on the
limitation of power of the commits
sion in making recommendation. He
said the jurisdiction was to find a
way to equalize taxes under exist
ing law with exception in the case
of assessment of bank and trust
stock, which complaints had been
made throughout the State.
Senator Pierce held that Mr.. Rus
by's idea smacked of single tax, but
the latter argued that abolition of
poll, personal and even improvement
taxes would be but a step toward
single tax.
Mayor Gregory, of East Orange, IN
addressing the commission, declared
the tax on houses should be removed,
leaving the levy on land values. In
support of this argument he showed
that the change in the character of
neighborhoods affected the value on
house values. Although man might
expend $4,000 in improving his resi-
dence, depreciation of the neighbor-
hood would bring down the market
value to $4,000
AdvisaDility Of taxing the individual
holder of stock shares resulted in
an interesting debate between Mayor
Gregory and member of the com
mission, Arthur C. Pleydell, of North
Pla'nfield secretary of the New York
Tax Reform Association.
The mayor in contending that it was
the spirit of the law that every per-
son pay his just proportion of taxes
said the man who owned a $500 share
of stock should pay tax on it just as
the owner of $500 equity in realty is
required to do.
DO you favor assessing the indi-
vidual holder of stock in a corpora
tion?" asked Mr.. Pleydell
The mayor replied in the afIirma-
tive, and also to the next question, f
he also advocated the levying on the
corporation stock direct.
Mr.. Pleydell said this was double
taxation, and not i'm keeping with
New Jersey law. Mr.. Gregory sad
this system was in vogue elsewhere,
and spoke of the owner of mortgaged
real estate being assessed at full
value, although the holder of the
mortgage was also assessed on the
amount of the mortgage
| Before the morning session ad-
journed Mr.. Carroll held the attention
of the commissioners in describing
Newark's method of taxation, which
has been studied and adopted by sew
eral cities of the United States HI
also made many recommendations
most important of which was the