Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-11-11
PERSONAL TAX LAW
DOOMED, PERHAPS
Hudson Senator-elect Has Bill
Ready for Introduction
Into Legislature.

JERSEY CITY, Nov. 11.-State
Senator-elect Charles M. Egan, who
ran on a platform declaring for the
abolition of the tax on personal
property as, for instance, household
property and machinery, sta ted this
morning that his bill Is in course of
preparation and will be among the
first to be introduced when the
Legislature organizes on January 10.
81 shall have my bill prepared with
the aid of a tax expert" said Sena-
tor Egan today. my purpose is not
to take the tax off second-class rail-
road property, but to take Il off the
household articles and machinery and
tools and property of that kind. The
bill will be so drawn as to meet any
constitutional objections. 1t will be
q bill that will stand the closest
scrutiny. 1t will provide for a new
classification of taxable property"
Egan's move Is in harmony with
the progress for which Commissioner
Brensinger director of finance and
taxation, stands, and which Mr..
Brensinger today reaffirmed when he
said:
1.-The taxation of personal property
has become a farce and Is unfair IN
tho extreme. 1 shall cooperate with
every well directed move to abolish
the tax on the personal property OF
the small retailer and the moderate
owners of small homes. 1t may be
that the abolition of the personal tax
on all personal property will be the
eventual outcome.
when | became commissioner last
June / found that 1t was up TO me to
collect the personal taxes as l found
them on the books, and ! have had
much opportunity to see the wretched
inequality Of the whole taxation sys-
tenn as far as 1t relates to the per-
sonal taxes. The personal tax Is q
great hardship on the small retailer
and the consumer.
THE shifting process is in evidence
in this case as 1t Is in the case of
the tariff tax.
For instance, the importer pays
the tariff tax upon foreign products
to the government and shifts the tax
to the jobber, who shifts 1t to the
retailer, who in turn shifts II to the
consumer.
"This is also true of your tax upon
the shelves of q Newark avenue mer-
chant. The merchant pays it in the
first instance, but Incorporates this
tax into the price of the goods which
he sells and in the end such tax is
therefore paid by the consumer.
Take q suit of clothes. A per-
sonal property tax would be assessed
against the machinery and the raw
material. 1t would then be assessed
against the clothes on the shelves of
the wholesaler and 1t would once
more be assessed against, the reta'i
merchant on Newark avenue. Thus
three taxes would be assessed against
this personal property and the en-
tire tax would be Incorporated in the
price that the man who buys the
clothes would have to pay.
"1'his Is not only double taxation,
but triple taxation, as Counselor
George Hendrickson made plain in
his letter to me last September. Mr..
Hendrickson's letter set many people
to thinking on this subject
Take the case of an automobile.
The machinery which produces the
auto is taxed and then the dealer in
autos is taxed while 1t is in his
store or show room. Then when the
auto is bought the man VINO gets II
must not only pay both these taxes
n the price of the auto, but ne
comes in for nice lot of fresh taxes
He is taxed by the city for having
the auto and he is compelled to pay
the State for his license. The per-
sonal tax system is capable of vast
Improvement and | have an idea
that this coming winter will see the
tax question ventilated as It has not
been ventilated in many year. The
net result will be more equitable
taxation"