New-York tribune., 1918-12-20
State Income
Tax Opposed
BY Il. M. Travis
Believed Shortage Of Income
Cornll Be Met by Reduction
of Cost of Government
Many Suggestions Made
Mayors Committee Holds
Final Session and L. Ready
10 Prepare Legislation

Eugene NJ. Travis. State Controller,
at the final session Of the Mayors
Committee on TaNation, held ycster-
day at the City Hall, opposed the prop
osltion that state income tax be
LEVIED to obtain new sources Of revc
nue. in order to lower the real estate
rate. Controller Travis proposed an
amendment to the mortgage tax
recording law whereby all mortgages
would bo taxed about 50 per thousand
and then he exempted fov a period Of
from three TO FIVE yeats.
ghc Controller hcld that the t;no
WAS not rlro fer a state income tax
here.
in additions" continued tlc Con-
troller. Il am conylnced thAt II Is ur-
wise to parallel Fcdcsel le9.slatioN
which viii impose " relatively hiah
income tax law. Al east it shoo 4 hc
deferred until it is definitely known
just what the Federal TAX will be. and
not then until we have an opportunity
To study the probable effect and the
wisdom of imposing an additional in
come tax for state purposes, and the
fairness and the justncss cf such a tax,
if imposed
Tax Burden Not Fair
Controller Travis said that the gem
eral property system of taxation is a
/ failure in that it does not result ir
distributing the tax burden fairly and
oQuitably, and particularly so when
applied TO personal property He said
/ that one way to reduce taxes would be
to reduce the cost OF government, and
that this was especially feasible now
where the increase WAS due 10 war con-
ditions.
Various other methods Of increasing
revenues and reducing taxes were
advocated by other speakers, and foi
every proposition advanced there was
found opposition.
Within the next month the Mayors
committee, Of which Nathan Hirsch j.
chairman, Will epdeavor TO whip int
shape bill 10 be presented TO the Leg
islature cmbcdying some of the idea
suggested IN the last two days.
Most of the real estate men who ap
Dcared before the committee urged
rigid realty tax not exceeding 81 pc
hundred. Others asked for rea
estate inpost not to exceed $40. l
is now $2.33. If the lower figure o
St.15 should be fixed. upward of SAG,
900 600 would have to be obtained from
new sculces o. revenue, as each cen
. Of taxation yields approximately $500,
eco.
> New Faxes Proposed
The principal new sources of rev
; enue suggested other than those al
ready mentioned were an occupations
tax, business tax and special levie
on big interests, such as fire insuianc
companies and the milk companies.
This asst proposition was advance
, by Walter j. Salomon, representing
7 property owners in the neighborhoo
| of Fifth Avenue and Forty -secon
= Street.
a The fire insurance companies. tn
n chief beneticiaries Of the Fire Depart
> ment,' said Mr.. Solomon, "should
d taxed for at least one-half the cost o
maintenance Of the department. An
The same should hold true of other bi
interests such as the milk companie:
which receive at present free OF cos
:, the labor of .ho city's milk inspectors.
Samuel Strasbourger former Ia
a Commissioner, said that he favored q
: income tax which would include thos
s as low as $1,000 year For The sma
e incomes he would levy | per cent.
: "a small income tax" he SAL
e 'wou!d bring in from $500000 900 I
: $100, 600 and would reduce Il
realty tax to SIPS"
d Mr.. Strasbourgcr also favored q pc
d sonal property tax of nc-quarter (
E. | per cent, which, he said, would vie
s. $47 500. .00O.
It Hugh Gordon Miller, a lawyer urge
At an occupational tax. especially on pr
d fessional men, not lower than S25 a,
s nually. This, he said, would enab
d the municipality TO tax non-resideh
is "who earn millions in New York CT
and pay not q cent in taxes"