The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-10-08
Fifth Avenue Is Greatest Revenue Producer For the
 Gotham Taxgatherers
FIGURES ARE NOT
 HELD EXCESSIVE
Assessors Find That In Certain Sec tions of City There Have Been Great Decreases In
 Values
By HOLLAND

from one point of view the tentative as- 000.O00 round numbers, on personal prop erty in the ownership of citizens of New York city is a matter of local interest and concern, still there are several reasons why it may be considered from broader, even national aspect. Much of this as- sessment was within day sworn off The amount of the assessment as first made is a little larger than the entire bonded debt of the United States, as that stood at the close of the civil war. It Is a sum much greater than the estimate of the total wealth of a number of the states of the union, regarding wealth as somes thing visible and taxable. There are number of states of the union, especially some of the younger states of the far west, which possess natural resources yet to be developed which are greatly in. ex- cess of 8, O00, ,000,0 COG On the other hand, the natural resources of the city of New York have been exhausted, and the wealth of the city represents developed resources
 The fact that the tax commissioners made q first and tentative estimate of $3, I000OO,000 as the amount of personal property upon which taxes could be levied is of course likely to call attention to this estimate from citizens who live in other parts of the country. A few days ago Henry P. Davison, who has been greatly and almost exclusively occupied for the past six or eight months in the prelimi- nary and then in the conclusive labors associated with the negotiations of the Anglo-French loan, was reported as hav- ing said that the proportionate part which New York city will bear to the under. .f 4l..r between 60 and 70 per cent, and, further more, that this was a fair proportion, for it represented the relation which New York bears to the rest of the country. If that be true then it would seem that q personal assessment of B, TOO O,00 was not an excessive estimate.
 There were. however, immediate com plaints that the assessment was chiefly based on guesswork. One of the authori- ties intimates that the assessors have dis covered new means of learning where large amounts of personal property which has hitherto escaped taxation are held. One intimation has been that the sources of this information came from those who collected the federal income tax from citizens of New York. However, this sur mise is not commonly accepted as accu- rate since it is known that the officers of the government who are empowered with the authority to collect the income tax have in no instance betrayed confi- dence.
 New York City needs large additions to it's revenue and the assessors, under the law now not only have the right but are obliged to establish the amount of per sonal property held by citizens of New York and then to make assessment upon it. No one complains of the law, but there is a good deal of complaint, as is always the case when assessments on per sonal property are made A man may possess stocks and bonds of the face value of $5,000,000 or $10,000,000 yet if he should die it might be discovered that he owed a good deal more than this.
 Ultimately. no doubt. the final and fixed assessment for tax purposes upon per sonal property owned by citizens of New York will be very different from the ten tative assessment. There may be dis closures of the names of good many in dividuals in New York who are really multim ilionaires, although they have been able heretofore to keep the amount of tEeir riches profound secret. Occasion ally there is revelation through the death of a citizen of New York that he was a possessor of millions, although the pre- sumption in his lifetime was that he was a man whose riches were only mod crate. Expert authorities have long as- serted that there are a good many more multimillionaires in the United States that is ito say, persons whose wealth is in excess of $5,O00 000--than the public realizes.
 A Peculiar Object Lesson
 Those who have made this tentative tax assessment have fixed the assessable value of real property in New York city at a little under $s,oO0000,O0O. If this estimate is approximately accurate then had the first assessment upon personal property stood unchanged, the total property in the city of New York available for taxes is nearly $11, 00G0,000. Curiously enough, this figure is approximately equal to the relation which New York city bears to the entire wealth of the country
 The assessors have made some extraor- dinary discoveries. A few years ago cer- tain sections of the city were so valuable that sometimes comp ltations were made of the amount of silver dollars which it would Dc necessary to place upon the superficial area in order to represent the total value of the property. Now the as- sessors find that considerable decreases in real estate values have occurred within the last year or two, and these decreases tell the story of the change in trade con ditions. Fewer silver dollars would be required to cover this land than were needed some years ago. A few years ago Twenty-third street and parts of
 
 real property. Changes in trade make it possible no longer to give that name to these properties. Some of the changes have come very quickly. Three or four years ago private houses on Thrty-fourth h street were marketed at phenomenal prices. so that upon their sites great re- tail shops could be built. Now the as- sessors find that the climax of high prices for real property upon Thirty fourth street was reached about a year ago. The great gold mine for the tax assesso in New York city is Fifth ave- nue. Some of the assessments show how enormous are thes overhead charges main- tained by some of the great shopping houses. There is one department store which uses its building exclusively not re- ceiving any outside income from it. which Is assessed at $13.550000, and Another is assessed at $7300,O00. These assessments will undoubtedly stand, and they suggest at once how great the volume of trade and how remunerative the trade must be in order to meet interest upon the in- vestment and overhead charges before any money Is earned with which to pay divi- dends.
 Equalization Board in Mont pOmerv