New Britain herald., 1930-11-26
Report Covering All Phases to Be Submitted to Committee Studying Project On Friday Night - Views of Commits sioner Blodgett Are EX- plained.

To change the system Of tax col lection in New Britain from once a year to twice 6 year would cost be tween S300O and S320o, Chairman Thomas Linder of the board of aS- sessors estimated at meeting last night of the special committee hav- ing in charge the inquiry into the 5dvlsability of making the change. He made it plain that he was not opposed to the idea but he pointed out that in addition to the added eX- pense there would be the feature of making changes in the charter and the books of his department and the .ax collection office.
 To File Detailed Reports
 The committee decided 10 have 'lr. Linder. Tax Collector Loomis and President W. H. Judd of the toard of finance and taxation sub nit reports at meeting next Mon .,ay evening at o'clock, setting forth in detail what the proposed Change would mean in the citys financial system, and it was also voted to have Councilman W. G. Gibney, committee chairman. confer with Corporation Counsel J. II. Kirk lam relative to bringing before the charter revision committee Friday evening of this week such charter changes as would be necessary to put The plan into operation. In the event that the special committee recommends to the common coun- Ctl that the change be made and the council votes approval, the charter revision committee can go ahead with the necessary changes. but if unfavorable action is taken either by the special committee or the council itself, t will not be neces- sary to go further.
 In any event the change cannot DC made in time to be operative prior to the fiscal year of 1932-33, because he machinery for levying and col lcctlng next years tax is already in motion and the necessary charter ehanges cannot be made in time to start the new system in the fisc1i year commencing April ], 1881.
 Confer With Blodgett
 Mr. Judd, reporting for the sub committee appointed to confer with fax Commissioner w. H. Blodgett, reported that he ard Comptroller Day and Tax Collector Loomis met the commissioner and discussed the matter from various angles. The commissioner agreed that the prin- cipal advantage obtainable through two collections q year in 38 munich palities in Connecticut was that the taxpayers burden was lientenc,!. this point having been made by MT. Judd at the first meeting Of the committee several weeks ago.
 4 statement to the Connecticut Chamber of Commerce under date Of June 16, 1880, on the subject of tax collections twice q year. was furnished by the commissioner to the subcommittee, and stated in part as follows: Tt is to be noted that the majority Of the larger municipalities of the state arc now having their taxes due in two in sediments, It is probable that most, if not all, of the municipalities in which taxes are now payable in two Lstallments have changed over from single payment tax as convenience 10 the taxpayer. Human nature being what it is, it is in many cases easier for the taxpayer 10 promptly pay his taxes in two installmcnts than in one.
 Prom the point Of view Of the municipality wo-inStallmcnt taxes are not being encouraged This is due 10 the fact that it places con- siderable extra work upon the col l"cting agency Of the municipality. There < extra work for the rate maker in making up the rate book. while the work to the collector and to the auditors is about doubled.
 Tn two or three of the Connccti- cut municipalities, an effort is being made 10 have the taxpayer pay the second installmcnt at the time of he payment of the first installment by giving q discount on the second installmcnt, provided it is paid al he time that the first installmcnt is due.
 "Whcrc a municipality is antici- patinS it's tax revenue by several months and is doing Considerab bIe temporary borrowing, an effort has been made in certain of the Con ncctlcut municipalities to get caught up by increasing the tax rate in q certain year. Where this has been cone, the municipality has often changed over to a two -installment tax in order that the extra tax bur den may be distributed over long YcrIod Of time.
 Disappearing Taxpayers
 There is one disadvantage to q two-inslallmcnt tax which does not concern itself with extra i>oor. The second inStallment is usually due six lronths after the first installmcnt. This means that another six months period has been given 10 taxpayers to disappear to parts unknown, or 10 otherwise make the tax uncol lcctible.
 "At the present time the collec tors are having much difficulty with lo1ters who are in the municipal ity on the assessment day. but who have disappeared by the time that the tax becomes due and payable. This is particularly true Of personal fIt,- nt nr vehicles
 of it is thought worth while 10 have taxes payable in two install ments as a convenience 10 the tax payer. if is suggested that all taxes below certain amount. saytwenty- five dollars be still due and pay q ll- in one lnetallnnnt and that in