Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-02-10
GOOD IN THEORY BUT a IN PRACTICE

on his DdnuS Wneu HIS Dh " loPS"
which was passed last year comes up in the House next
week. Considerable opposition is being aroused n ESSEX
Hudson and Union counties and unless there is a convincing
argument put up as to why the present law IS unfair anu
unjust there may not be enough votes IN the assembly u pun
the repeater across,
The Newark Evening News, speaking for Essex county,
avs the law as it stands should be retained on its merits
If claims that those senators and assemblymen VINO Noteu
for the law last year are inconsistent in voting for It's re-
real This wear. 1t argues that these legislators were con-
WINGED that the bill last year was sound theoretically ana
should be given a fair test in practice.
Rut if is well known that a great many things that
are sound theoretically are not always practical. Thls equal
tax law has already been given a fair test IN practlce ana
the Injustice of the law is most apparent. The theory of
The law is that the State Board of Taxation will equallze the
valuations in the various counties in the state so that one
county will not be paying an unjust share OF the state tax
which is based on local assessments. In practice, however,
The law simply arrays one county against another, the state
board refusing to act in any county, no matter how low the
valuations may be, unless some other county makes COM
plant against its sister county.
The JERSEY City Journal in voicing an opinion from Hud-
son county says the law as it stands is Tin the interest OF
equity and fair dealing. Nobody in favor of fair taxation
has any reason to fear it, There is no equity or Sair deal
ing in jumping on one or two counties simply because some
other nearby county is jealous of its growth and prosperity,
while all the other counties are let alone.
The only way to assure fair taxation is to so into all
the counties and readjust the valuations generally, just as
The plainfeld Courier News, of Union county, says The
i,ourier News, which heartily favors the present law and
severely criticizes Senator Larson for his attempt to have
repealed, unwittingly strikes the nail squarely on the
head when it says: eff all counties are not going to place
Aa fair valuation on the property within their confines; II
every means possible is going to be resorted to in an effort
10 dodge responsibility for the states maintenance, and its
debts. it will not be long before a serious situation Will de-
Selop.''
EAU counties" is right, and it is because the present
law when put into practice has been made the agency 1or
an attack on one or two counties instead of an equalization
ct valuations in all the counties that the repeal of the law
is desired.
The Newark Sunday Call, in commenting on Senator
aI-arson's repeater, says:
sThe Middlesex senator does not deny the justice OF
equal taxation, but he wants an investigation made of the
whole state and not merely of one or two particular counties.
rhe state board has declined to investigate on its own in
itiative and insists that compliant must be Tiled by one county
against another. This is a procedure that is bound to result
in hard feelings and provoke retahatory measures If possible
as is now witnessed in the cases of Essex and Morris.
I'VE are disposed to agree with Senator Larson on tins
,oinf. but think that he should have endeavored to broaden
The scope of the present law rather than to repeal it. Make
it mandatory upon the state board to make at once a survey
uf assessments in every county in the state, followed by such
i readjustment of valuations as the Investigation may show
is necessary to obtain equality among the counties. Pro-
cedure of this kind would obviate any chance of ill-feeiins
between counties and would fairly apportion the burden OF
state taxes among them"
This is The correct attitude and it is in this direction
that Senator Larson is working. The only trouble is thai
to conduct a state wide investigation would cost a grea'
deal Of money and it would involve the whole slate taxing
system which is most complicated and decidedly out OF date
.t IS common knowledge that New Jersey is losing import
ant Industries every year because OF her anhquated system
If taxation i'm contrast with the more modern and advan-
tageous system in vogue in some other states. Something
has got to be done if we are to retain our prestige as a grea
industrial state. If the present agitation over the e.qua
valuation of property in different counties can bring abou
The radical reform that is needed it will be well worth while
No matter how good the theory of the law may be
If it does not work out in practice, as this tax valuations
law positively does not, it is not a good law and therefore
should be repealed. Once this injustice is rectified let a CON,
mission be appointed that will revise the whole system o
taxation in New Jersey and give the state an u~p-to-date tax
ing system-one that will be just to ell concerned and ON
That will draw industries TO US rather than drive them away