Perth Amboy evening news., 1924-02-15
ASSESSMENTS,
EXCEPT 3 CASES,
WILL STAND
No Further Hearings Will Be
Held by County Tax
Board
TWO PLANTS IN DISPUTE
Inspection Shows, it Is Said,
That Assessors Have
Been Fair
NEW BRUNSWICK. Feb. IL

NEW BRUNSWICK. Feb. 10
Two manufacturing plants and
one merchant of Perth Amboy. al
legged to have been assessed entirely
too low on their personal assess
ments for the present year. are to
be served with personal tax return
sheets by the Perth Amboy assessors
today. on which they will be asked
to swear to the value of their per-
sonal property. These returns are
to be completed and filed in the
county tax Office not later than next
Monday. according to the order
made by the County Board of Taxa
ton yesterday, and in the event
of failure or refusal to comply with
the order. the local assessors have
been instructed to use their own
Judgment in determining the value
of the personal holdings.
No further hearings will be heard
oy the county board in the Perth
Amboy tax dispute. according to the
decision arrived at yesterday at the
conference between the county board
and the local assessors. With the
exception of the three cases mem
toned all assessments on industrial
plants. business houses and resi-
Dental property will remain as as
sessed the county body having been
convinced from. an inspection of the
taxing lists that the local asses
sors did their work in a fair and
efficient manner.
An investigation of the books dis
closed that the personal tax assess
ment of Albert Leon & Son, Smith
street furnature dealers, was for
$4,000 and it was brought out dur
ing the discussion of this subject.
that a s250.000 furniture sale is now
being advertised by that company.
The difference in the amount of the
value placed by the assessment and
the value placed by the owner in ad-
vertising the sale was found to be so
great, that the tax board concluded
to give the company an opportunity
to state the value of their stock in
an affidavit and under oath.
The two industries involved are
the Raritan Copper Works and the
American Smelling and Refining
Company, both refiners of gold, sill
yer and copper. This action comes
from complaint of the Raritan
company that the American plant,
which is a competitor, is not bearing
in Perth Amboy.
A reduction of $264.335 in the as
sessment against the A. S. and r. IN
1922 was attacked in the complaint
of the Raritan Copper Works man
agement, the contention being that
the plant had since been rebuilt and
remodeled at a cost of 100000
though that point had not been con-
sidered by the assessors in the 1924
assessment
The claim was entered that the
1922 reduction on the American
plant should be replaced and that an
additional raise of fifteen per cent.
in valuation should be made this
year in order to make that company
pay its proportionate share.
The city assessors thought that the
values arrived at by them were fair,
but when the Raritan complaint was
called to their attention they sug-
gested that an additional 100000
personal assessment be levied against
the A. S. and r. company. This pro-
posal did not meet with the approval
of the county board. and it was then
decided that the officials of both
plants involved should be served
with the tax blanks on which to
certify their true valuations.
An increase of $3S5.340 in the
1924 assessment of the Raritan Cop
per Works is shown on the tax du-
plicate, while the American smelter
has been increased $194.450. The
comparative assessments against
both plants for the past and present
years are as follows:
Raritan Copper Works