The New York herald., 1921-01-06
CONSTRUCTION AND ECONOMY

! fees. the stock transfer tax and the
mortgage tax. the State maintains eight
| bureaus distributed through three de-
| partments the Tax Department the
Comptroller's office and the office OF
the Secretary OF State. Efficiency
economy and convenience of tax
payers would all be promoted by uniting
these under one head. Separate offices
are now maintained In different parts
of the state. part of which could be
eliminated. Office equipment could be
saved and office forces could be reduced
by distributing the peak loads through
out the year so as to utilize the same
force in part at least. in different col
lections For example, the automobile
plates now costing large sum to dis
| tribute could with but small addi-
tional expense. be distributed by the
force in the Income Tax Bureau, through
the same offices now maintained for
the collection of that tax Moreover. the
information obtained in the assessment
of one tax is often useful in the assess
ment of others.
| The present method of assessing in
heritance taxes is unduly expensive. The
ratio of cost for the past four years
has been as follows: 1917. ASS per
cent. 1918. 5.26 per cent 1919, 4.73
per cent 1920. 3.31 per cent. The rela-
! lively low rate in 1920 was due to alb
normally large collections from few
| estates. The percentage of cost has
| been too high and has always been too
high, and that has been due to cumber-
some and expensive methods and to a
system which has admitted of abuse Of
political patronage. The expense, for
the most part, is deducted from the tax
1 |, ic In, IN tta Cfat 10
with the result that there has practically
been no check upon 1t, the Comptroller.
| the auditing officer. being the one
charged with the administration of the
law. The cost of collecting that tax
the last fiscal year was more than
S750,000. but the budget disclosed APP
preparations of less than $4,000 for
| that work.
Tax Collection Revision.
| Due to the method of assessment it
is necessary to employ in the larger
counties appraisers and attorneys. the
| latter on a fee basis. and the custom
| has grown to make special designation
in the case of large estates. l know that
very large part of that work is wholly
| perfunctory and could as well be done
by clerk in the department.
| 1t has been thought in the past that
some such method is necessary to pre-
vent estates from escaping taxation in
whole or in part. ! am satisfied that. If
ever sound, that reason no longer exists.
The State now has too many ways Of
checking estates, which experience has
! proved to be efficacious, to make 1t nee
essary longer to maintain that cumber-
some and expensive method
| j recommend that the entire method
of assessment and collection be revised.
| that the local appraisers and attorneys
be entirely eliminated, that the tax be
assessed by transfer tax bureau of the
State Tax Department, with jurisdiction
in the surrogates' courts to review the
assessment in case of complaints, the
State to be represented on such review
by the Attorney Generals office. The
| law should, of course, provide that no
order should be made by the surrogate
settling the accounts of personal repre-
sentatives of decedents without the pro-
duction of receipt for the payment OF
the tax. and proper penalties should be
| imposed for delays in payment.
One million dollars Is a conservative
estimate of the saving that can be ex-
going tax agencies. and in my judg-
ment efficiency and convenience of tax
payers will also be promoted.
! The question is, In what department
| should those activities be placed and
! how should It be organized?
There is one controlling reason. which
in my Judgment requires that all tax
activities be grouped in single tax
department, and that Is the necessity of
a proper correlation of our systems and
methods of taxation so as more equi-
tably to distribute the tax burdens. Our
tax system is a patchwork which has
! grown without adequate consideration of
the relations of different classes of per-
sons or of property. Seventy per cent.
of the taxes, State and local, is contrib
uted by real property. which Is now pay
ing on the average 30 per cent. of Its
| gross income in taxes. That situation
| discourages land owning and aggravates
| the rent and housing problems in our
congested centres.
New Tax Department..
As an illustration of how our tax sys-
| tenn has developed. real property which
| twenty years ago was assessed at less
/ than half value Is now assessed at nearly
and in many places quite full value. but
the rate of tax on other species of prop
erty has during those twenty years re-
mained unchanged. 1t Is therefore inn
portant to bring under one head, not
merely the administration of the indirect
]
! ministration OF our entire tax system, to
the end that 1t may be properly corre-
lated not only In matters of admins
tration, but In matters of substance as
well. A State tax department charged
with the administration of all tax laws
| Is thus plainly suggested.
! The only other office naturally to be
I considered Is that of the Comptroller's
office. However, the Comptroller Is pri-
marily an auditing officer. and In my
! judgment an auditing Office should not
/ be converted into a great administrative
office. The Comptroller should undoubt-
edly audit both revenues and expendi-
lures. I think he should audit the books
| of all departments, and should be given
broad powers of examination for the
/ purpose of audit But I think he should
not be charged with administration. In
place of the Comptroller investing the
sinking fund moneys. they should be
invested by some other official, subject
to his audit Instead OF his selling the
bonds OF the State. they should be sold
by some other official, subject to his
audit. The State Treasurer might prop
erly be given those duties. subject TO
the audit of the Comptroller.
Should the Tax Department be headed
by a commission or a single commits
sioparo think hxperenca has dpnlor-