Smyrna times., 1923-03-14
MUST PAY 1922 FILING FEE
DESPITE A CAPTITATION TAX
BILL ABOLISHING FEE, WHICH
WAS PASSED, NOT RETROACTIVE
CapitatiOn Tax of $3.50 Substituted
But Clause Providing for its Cellec-
tiOn by Counties, Leaves LOophOles


But Clause Providing for its Cellec-
tiOn by Counties, Leaves LOOphOles
The school revenue bill, which abol-
ishes the So filing fee and substitutes
q $3.50 capitation tax upon every cit
izen of the State above the age of 21,
abOliSheS the State Tax Commission
and makes the State Treasurer's office
the collective agency for the collec-
tion of taxes levied for school pur-
poses, which passed both branches of
the General Assembly Friday. The
law, if it becomes effective by ap-
prOval of the Governor does not re-
lease any taxable from the payment
of the SO filing fee for 1922, due and
payable by Thursday of this week, ac-
cording to State Commissioner NJ.
Howard Jester. Mr.. Jester has eX-
tended the limit of time for payment
Of the SO filing fee until April Is out
Of Difference to the members of the
General Assembly who were consider
ing this school revenue bill and a bill
introduced by Representative Brogan
repeating the filing fee. "But regard
less of any action of the Legislature" :"
Mr.. Jester said, mo law could be en-
acted which would be retroactive, and
the So filing fee was due and payable
on and after January l, 1923, March
Is being the date designated in the
law as the time at which legal action
can be started against. delinquents." "
! The only real change created by the
new law, if it becomes effective, those
familiar with it claim is in the amount
of the head tax and the agency for
collecting it.
Levy Court Problems in Collecting Tax
One of the questions raised under
one of the amendments to the new
school revenue law, which makes the
Levy Courts of the three counties re-
! spOnsible For the collection of the
/ capitatiOn tax, and sets forth the
amount each county will have to turn
into the State Treasury on January
l, is how this amendment is to be en-
forced. The amount set up for New
Castle county is $125,OOO. Levy Court
will have to set this amount up in its
budget for the next fiscal year. I'm
der this management, the Levy Court
would have to turn this amount ovel
to the State Treasurer, whether col
lected or not. The question is what
they would do if it should turn out
that only $4,000 was collected. They
say they could not draw on any Other
item in the budget, as the law forbid:
this, and even if this were possible il
would mean that the school purposes
in New Castle county, if one-half oi
the deficiency in such an event is de-
Quoted from one-half the total ot
$125,000, the county would only realize
S37,5O0 for school purposes. Another
serious objection to the bill is thai
which recently led to the abandonment
of the plan of trying to collect the
present % cent capitation tax by ad
ding it to bills rendered by the Office
of the New Castle county assessment
board.
Bill Leaves LOOphOles to Escape Tal
1t is claimed that the collection O
the capitation tax by the SAM
agencies through which the counties
collect their regular county, poor an,
road taxes would result in the owner
of real estate having to pay thi
$3.50, leaving loopholes for non-prop
erty owners to escape it. Certainly
it is pointed out by members of tn
Levy Court, the county is not author
lied to make up any deficiency in capi
tation taxes from money collected fo
other purposes.