New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Just and Efficient Tax System Aim of Realty Men

T IKE "hitching mouse to roll
L. er" is the attempt to operate
modern democratic government
on the remnants of the general prop
erty tax which survive for state and
local purposes in New York.
situation which was pronounced
acute by the joint legislative commit
tee of 1916. Of which Senator Ogden L.
Mills was chairman, is approaching the
point of disaster with the increase in
price levels and the loss of the liquor
excise.
From the accepted canons of fiscal
science we learn that public revenue
should be raised by means which are
convenient, certain, equitable. econom-
zeal and also elastic Any tax which
dries up" q source of income is either
unsound or punitive. and we have
found that to be fault of the present
tax rate on personal property, and only
to slightly smaller degree as to
realty.
Unreasonable rents, lowered quality
OF housing. congestion Of population
and industry, Reorganization in the
building and security industries while
large tax-paying ability is allowed to
escape-are among the present tendcn-
cles under our antiquated methods of
state and local taxation
The tax problem is the direct con-
Germ of every person in the community
1t is more the problem of the tenant
than of the owner, for the tenant has
but to encourage building operations
and over-bulding results. as there is
some quality in human kind, which is
land hunger" or similar impulse,
which forces the largest possible
amount of land into use But dis
courage ownership or make it uneco-
nomic, and the owner will sooner or
later give up the unequal struggle, and
his "llabiity' will revert to the saw
ings bang or insurance company or
other lender; the owner is done with
it. while the tenant goes on paying
higher and higher rents for inferior
accomm odations. He will never find
the remedy in public housing or in
any scheme for forcing those unsound
loans onto the public treasury.
Pegging the Rate
One Of the first steps in mental rea-
soning toward a remedy for the real
estate owner results in notion of
fixed rate for real property. Is noi
that the way out selected by the own
ers of personal property? But the
reasoning fails on the point Of analogy
as the personally rates referred to
are only called revenue measures by
courtesy they are exemption laws, in
fact
AS a fiscal measure, the fixed rate is
crudity. There are several reasons
and space precludes a full discussion
However. 10 mention the principal
points, we begin by recalling ID that
real estate taxes are the traditional
variant for meeting revenue needs
which which are in excess Of other
smaller revenues; CD that under our
form of government we generally adopt
the project and then look about for
revenue to cover the cost, and g that
tax spenders fix the tax law. The we'll
known laws Of human nature in gen
cral and oar knowledge of the habits
of office holders in particular, lead US
TO believe that it is impossible to break
the sequence from % to go unless
with bride in kind-~larger revenues
to spend. But the bribe must be very
certain in amount
ONO, which is the only state having
an absolute rate, obtained it's law by
coupling it with statewide reassess-
mcnt OF property which wns certain to
more than double the total on the rolls.
me people Immediately voted the state
INTO new and costly activities without
providing additional revenues. Chaos
in finance resulted and bills rema ained
unpaid. day real estate is fighting
Tor its life "in Opposition to efforts on
inc part OF the administration to wal
iop resl estate to provide enormous