Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-02-10

"a 20 -
single tax method and II he had his
way he would go tho limit. He would
abolish all taxes, mot only upon
personal property, such as merchan-
disc, stock in trade. raw material,
machinery. agricultural and other
tools, and the live stock and crop OF
farmers, but upon all buildings and
other improvements upon land, and
would raise all taxes for local pur-
poses by increasing the rate Of taxa
ton upon land values" Mr.. Record
summarizes his argument for this
taxing method as follows:
"As a mere fiscal method II Is the
simplest, most economical and most
Just of any form OF taxation. Land
lies out-of-doors and It's value Is
generally known and established by
frequent sales. 1t is therefore the
easiest kind Of property to correctly
assess and the tax Is for the same
reason the hardest to evade. If our
assessors were required to assess
nothing but land, the cost of assess
ing taxes would be reduced to a min
imum, and the necessity Of yearly
inspections Of buildings and property
Of all kinds, with the liability to
error and the possibility of favorit-
ism and corruption, would be entire
~ eliminated"
Mr.. Record declares hat "the
effect Of exempting buildings and
| personal property from taxation
| would be to offer a premium upon
improvements and the building Of
homes and the establishment OF
| busin esses, and to reverse our present
stupid policy Of ponalizing industry,
thrift and Improvement, and offering
a reward for the holding OF land u
Of use. In the last analysis all
wealth out of the land Every
piece Of idle land Is therefore a po-
tential source for the employment of
labor and the production OF addition
al wealth. ouI PItSCIb 'S9 6LILlB ny
undertaking land and taxing the
man who makes an improvement
upon land, or produces wealth, ac-
cordlng to the value of his improve
ment or wealth production. puts a
premium upon holding land out OF
use, thus obstructing production. and
puts a penalty upon those who use
land for the production OF wealth."
The single tax on land, Mr.. Record
fnds, is being worked very success
fully in cities in Northwestern Can
ada and he finds increasing popular
ity in the so-called graded tax" be-
| Ing tried out IN Penn ylvania. In
| describing the taxing method OF
Pittsburgh Mr.. Record reports that
In 1911 Pittsburgh commenced to
exempt machinery and stock in trade
and raw materials used in manufac-
ture. This plan worked so well that
In 1914 the policy was adopted of
reducing the taxes upon buildings
ten per cent. every three years until
the assessment should finally reach
fifty per cent. of full value. In the
meantime, the tax on land has been
put at full value and the fellow with
the vacant lots and large tracts that
he is holding back waiting for values
to rise finds himself paying a greatly
increased assessor ent. He Is the one
who is now being penalized for keep
ing his land u~nproductive while the
person who improves his property
derives the benefit that he deserves.
Under the state local option tax
law in Maryland. Baltimore has
adopted the system OF exempting
buildings and personal property from
taxation and is using this advantage
as a powerful argument to induce
Whether this report of the COM
mission to investigate tax laws leads
to anything or not. 1t Is bound to set
people who read it to thinking. We
all know the weaknesses of our
present personal property tax and
| would like to find a remedy. but that
remedy Is not in further levying on
Il mans income, already barely
enough to enable him to supper his
family, Or In penalyzing business by
a special state tax. Mr.. Record, with
/ his single tax on land, or at least the
modified form as is In vogue In
Pittsburgh and Scranton, furnishes
the only logical solution.
The entire commission Is agreed
that there should be no tinkering. IF
the tax laws of the state are to be
revised there should be a complete
reorganization of the entire system.
When the change is made It should
be made right. In this attitude the
commission Is entirely correct. Once
the legislature begins to give the
matter the serious consideration it
deserves with the idea of indicating
to the commission such changes in
the taxing system of the state as the
legislature shall deem advisable, it
win find that the recommendations
of George L.. Record offer the most
feasible and lust methOd that ran