Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-11-13
WHAT Is THE TAPRooT OF
THE TAX ASSESSMENT EVIL? ?
City Government Is What Makes
Tax Burdens Heavy

Tax Burdens Heavy
TT HAPPENS periodically that those men
l. who are accustomed to regard the bus-
ness of governing as their private function,
in which the people have no right to inter-
fere, are rudely reminded that their view
is too restricted.
just now the people of this city are giving
an illustration Of the way they assert their
right to be considered. The place in which
they are having their say is the Office Of
the Board of Revision of Taxes. Owners Of
small houses on which the assessment has
been Unfortunately raised are protesting
with all the vigor at their command.
Simon Gratz, the president Of the board,
is surprised and grieved at the manifesto
tions of displeasure. He does not seem to
understand why so many persons should be
displeased with the action of the assessors.
who are appointed BY the board and act
under its direction. What does any owner
Of two story house know about the taxable
value Of his property? Is not that value
sum to be fixed by the assessors in their in
finite wisdom and submitted to by the owner
of the property?
The assessors are not responsible to the
people, for they are appointed by the Board
of Revision, and the Board of Revision Is
responsible neither to the people nor to the
Mayor nor to any department of the city
government. It's members are appointed by
the judges of the Court of Common Pleas.
If the people do not like the appointments
they cannot get at the judges. who are
elected for long terms and are chosen for
their judicial ability and not for their fitness
to name men who in the final analysis ap-
norton the tax burden upon the property
holders.
While the board is not responsible to the
people for what it does. its president has
just been announcing that 1t Is not re-
sponsible agent Of any kind. for he intimates
that the Mayor ordered an increase in the
assessments and the assessors simply did
what they were told to do. He is passing
the buck. And the Mayor on his part Is
saving that he did nothing but remind MIR.
Gratz of the doubling Of the rents in many
Office buildings and the increase in the rents
Of MANY houses. and suggested that these
facts should be taken into consideration IN
fixing the assessments for next year. Inc
Mayor does not care to assume RESPONSE
bilty for what has been done.
But the fact remains that the Mayor and
the Council were confronted with the ne
cessity of raising money to meet current
expenditures.
There we're three courses open, or pQssi-
bly, four.
The Mayor and Council could reduce the
expenses of government by consolidating
hureaus and by dismissing innumcrable
chair.warmers in the departments and by
| compelling the employees retained to DO
| fuu dav's work for a full days pay.
| Or the old assessments could stand and
| Council could increase the tax rate enough
| to WELD revenues for carrying on the gov
| ernmeut next year with the existing force
| Or the assessors could make fair ana
| inst increase in assessments based on actua'
| and permanent increase in value and Coun
| oil could compute the tax rate on TINS
assessment.
| Or the assessors could make horizontal
| and wholesale increase in assessments Daseo
on the sums paid by buyers who in their
straits we're compelled to submit to the de-
mands Of profiteers or go sheiterlcss'
The last course seems to have peer
odont.d because it seemed the easiest. This
~ Nv tho assessors are now put to the in
convenience of listening to the protests o.
;npumerable citizens who go to their ohce'
With n feeling that they have been out
ragged.
Tho readiustment of the assessments u
the permanent change in values was III
nroper course to have pursued II there wa
an honest desire to make an equltaoie au
iustmcnt of the burdens OF taxation In
nr;ce which real estate brought last year
This YEAR should have been CONSIDERED a'oh
with the price which similar real estate Ia
brought for the previous hve years' ana III
asad vauatio,. should have been arrive
- hy the computation of the average pric
a,'oh nronertv over this period of time
T. might be said that this Is the scientin
u,oy to arrive at taxable values, II the "or
oi.nti6c when applied to processes OF gov
o.nm.nt were not in disrepute. lt may
,ass oeepsiye to say that this would nav
hoo, the businesslike way to DO IT, IL
, the way the federal government. ar,Neu
> .ho ann 70 be paid to the roalroods whe
- took over their operation during the wa
, 7. will he recalled that the rentais paiu "e'
tho average earnings of the roads curing u
. Eve wears before the government tooh po'
| session of them. ,,, .h,a oo,.
r they would have had to DO grsat aeA'
.sy Tork for which they would have II
nal M extra pay. They seem to have pr,
.aa tho simpler course of discovering u
,st .o,as price of real estate In dinere
-. ~ the city and then raising the a
p.u.nts on the rest to correspond
Hence the indignation OF those citize
Lnow that their houses are not no
Il With woo $1,000 or $1,000 more than they we
= mo VII y wear ago. 1t is beside the point
i soU ~U, that much Of the property could be SO 70
Il in these days of a housing shortage for
nsw assessed value, for every one kho'
" that many of the present largely 'ne'eu'
n nric.s are temporary.
n p,.ns are under way for mass meeti
~ T., ~. Metropolitan Opera House to prot'
u" ao;nst ~ what has happened. Unless
- assrievsd property owners have lost con
- sS.s IN the power of public opinion a
=. think II useless to object, that meeting "
20 ha to,iowed by the wholesale correction
- us ,as, sssessmentsA That correction c
N