Real  Estate   Record





AND BUILDERS' GUIDE.





Vol. XXI.





NEW YORK, SATUBDAY, MAECH Ki, 1878.





Xo.





•}•).





Published IVeekly by

Cbc'Ecii( (Instate Secor^g^ssodaliou.

TER:yis.

OiVE YEAR, in advance.. ..SIO.OO.
C'oiiiiiumic.ations should bo addressed to

C-.   IV.   SWEET,
Nos. '.AT, A.VD •■}-t7 Broadway.

E(;)UALIZATION OF CITY TAXES.

We have alreadj' doinoustratod to our oAvn
.satisfaction that fully ten-elevenths of the present
cuormous budget of taxation is indirectly and
directly deriAcd from real estate. Tbere is prob¬
ably no immediate prospect ot" either a change of
the present Ijiav or a modification of the present
system of tax assessments, altbougb, in point of
fact, the tAvo have little or no natural aflhiitj'.
Tlie law says one thing, Avi.sely providing for an
iMpiitable taxation valueof all classes of property;
the present .system says the Iiiav, as defined, can¬
not be executed and tiierefore the oflicials charged
with ils c.x.;ciitioii must become a hiAV unto tbein¬
sclves and establish such assessments as seem
good in their ey-es. Noav, if ten-eleA'enths of tax¬
ation Avere derived from organized capital and
oiiIa- one-eleventh from re.il estate, it might bo a
matter of v-ery-small moment astohoAv this latter
fractional portion A\-as distributed, since in that
case hardly- any land-OAvner Avould be able to
coiniilaiii of an oppressive burden. But Avheii
Ave come to leverso these ligures, and lind that
one eleventh of taxation is levied upon organized
capital and teii-elevenlhs upon real estate, then
it becomes a question of the greatest nioinent
Iioav this vast total of taxation is actually- distri¬
buted among the v-arious oAvners of real estate.

Our land-oAvniiig readers must eertniiily- be
aAvure and perhaps the majority of business men
are also aware, of the manner in Avhicli taxation
is distributed in this city-. Deputy as.«ie.ssoi-.s. as
they are iioav called, Avard assessors as they were
formerly' called, are supposed to examine annual¬
ly every piece of taxable property in the city;
aflix an arbitrary value to the same; and return
it in a list, to the accuracy and tnitlifulness of
Avhicli the a.ssessor is obliged to certify under oath.

The duties of the three tax commissioners are
to revise and equalize tho lists of the sub-assessors,
and their liiial decision in regard to tax valua¬
tions is authoritative aud binding upon the tax
payer. Tho proportion of taxation which each
individual land-OAvner is required to bear is deter¬
mined by the amount of assessed valuation of hi.s
property. The ratio or percentage that the
Avholo budget of taxation bears to the total of
correct assessed valuations furnishes the percent¬
age rate; and the calculation of this percentage
rate upon individual valuations furnishes the
amount of respective tax bills.

The tax valuations of real estate, as compiled
in the tax commissioners' office at the present
time, constitute a great mosaic or patch-work.
These valuations have never been assessed and
determined as they should be upou a scientific
and comprehensive method;   They  have  been





continuously handed doAvii through successive lists
or books as the Avork of a long succession of ap-
praisei-s, and succee-liugonicials have increased
or diiiiiiiished exi.sting valuations ostensibly ac¬
cording to the .iudgment but really according to
the Avhiiii, fancy- or caprice of the acting deputy
as.sessor.

Since the establishment of the tax ofUce. there
has alAA'ays been a leading and reliable expert iu
tbe matter of valuations, aud at times in tbe corps
of deputy- as.sessois there have been a feAv nien
Avho Avere (|iia!ilied by experience and training to
intelligently- fulfil the duties of their ollice,
but of the majority- of these sub-asses.soi-s it
may bo triitbfully and not iiiicharitalily .'■aid,
that tlicy have no special aptitude or proyier
training for the discharge of their delicate and
responsible duties, and this tho more candid of
them would frankly acknoAvledge. Green, inex¬
perienced and untutored, they are sent out like
babes in the Avoods, to trace their Avay Ihrough
the labyrinth of Kcav York valuations. AVe
doubt if any surer system could bo devised than
this for defeating the proper valuation of prop¬
erty for taxation. Besides erroneous calculations,
niisjudgments and perver.se, partial or malicious
estimates of value, tlieie has ci-ei>t into the Avhole
.system, man-ing and dishonoring it, an element
of political partisanship Avhich took root in a pre¬
ceding and corrupt genei-ation, but the eft'ects of
Avbicb, it is to be feared, are in the main perpet¬
uated to the present daA'. There Avas a time
under "tlie^ TAVccd regime, when an ollice avus
opened on BroadAvay, of AAhich the avoAved
business Avas tho procuring of arbitiary and inor¬
dinate reductions in tax valuations. For such
service a fee Avas exacted amounting to one-half
of the .sum of ta.xation that the property oAvners
might save. The motto of this ollice was, " Poli¬
tics is a business."

It is more than suspected that under the same
corrupt regime partiiyinship and jiolitical influ¬
ence operated to establish Avidely disproportion¬
ate tax valuatimis in a great number and variety-
of properties.

It Avould be impossible to .say- Avbether theso in¬
equalities and disproportions of valuations still
exist Avithout a careful and laborious inspection of
the tax commi.ssioner's books. It is sufiicient,
liOAvever, to declare that such an impression is
abroad in the community, and Avhether right or
Avrong the clamor resulting from it cannot be si¬
lenced until tho commissioners consent to publish
in book form their lists of tax valuations in real
estate, if not in real and pei-soiial both. This
Avould enalde curious and apprehensive citizens to
satisfy^ their doubts and misgivings upon this vital
topic. If the tax valuations are just and equal, as
the commissioners perhaps believe and are ready-
to declare, then Avbat objection can there be to
giving property OAvners and tax-payers, who are
deeply concerned in the subject, the satisfaction
of seeing the proof with their OAvn ej-es. But, if,
as can hardly^ fail to be the case, there are exist¬
ing disparities in valuations" of extensive and
ramified sorts, perhaps entirely unknoAvn and un-
cognizablo to the present commissioners; then it
becomes equally tbe duty of the city and of these





special ollicials to furnish tax payers Avitli (he
data by Avliich they (.un form a clear and intel¬
ligent judgment and a.'-(,-eilaiii the uctiiul facts
of the case. The (ir.-t measure of refi.rm—
the lir.st practical step to betaken iuthe direct imi
of the jiLst eiiuaiizatimi of city taxes—is that
of printing in convenient und cluap shape the
present li.sts of tax valuation.s.

But as long as the preten.si^ is continued of ex¬
ecuting the present Iuav iinilcr the .sy.'^tciu now iu
vogue, it becomes of the highc.'it imiKu-lunce that
the upportionnient ol tux;.tion of r.'ul e.slate be
mudeuiion the most ei)uilabli- uiid scientific priii
ciples. An effort, ut hiist, to secure this d(\';ider-
atiim Avill cnmmeud itself tu the fairiitss aud
sense of justice of every- lux-jiuy-er.

We huA-e before outlined the .'iysteui ujioii Avhich
this can be done easily :uul comiireheusivelA', and
the more avo rellect ii]ioii it the more Ave are con¬
vinced of its suitublene.'^s for uccomplishing the
object ill vioAv. Until a better method is .sug¬
gested, Ave shall coiitimie to reiterate ourdt-uiand
for the adoiitioii of this special i)!uii us the most
exhaustive and s.-itisf.act(iry th.-it cnii be couceived
of for covering the entire ca.«e. In ils pr.-u-tical
operation avu believe that this .'■chenie will be
found to be more eflicaciou.s, economical and sjit-
isfying than the present method, or lack of
method.     It is simply this:

1.   To let a reliable, iiilelligeiit expert, like Mr.
Coleman, of the tax ofiice. or any one, or half a
dozen of the leading qualified experts in the citv
take the city maps, and estubb'sh urbitrarv and
consistent land values for every block in t!ie city,
A number of adjacent blocks migia begroiiiied
together in a sfclioii, und a imifiuiii sy.stem of
valuation applied to the projierty Avithin ibis sec.
tion—corners, at .such a price; aviuiuelots, at such
a price; street lots, at such a price; frm tioiial lots
to be computed at-cordiiig to the sluiidurd unit of
land measiii-e, to Avit, a full lot of tweuly-fivo by-
one liundred. These land values cleurh- u.<cer-
taiiied aud closely defined should be as iieailv .as
possible uniform in given .sictions. .-\fter this
.scheme has been applied to the Avholo cily, the
ground Avork Avould then bo laid of a iini'foi-ni,
consistent and reliable valuation. AVell-informed
cily experts conversant Aviih our city pn.p..ity
might be able to make these land vulualii.us Avith¬
out leaving the ofiice, c'^peciully Aviih the aM of
tho excellent maps and charts of city pioperty
Avhich can iioav be obtained.

2.   The next step in the .system Avould be to or¬
ganize a corps or several corps of men experienced
in mattei-s of building. In each corps, there
should be at least one builder, one architect and
one surveyor. Thus constituted, each of these
.staffs of builiMng experts should be sent out to
value the improvements in each of the sections
already defined. The valuations of ono set, should
be supplemented and verified by the A-aluations of
another set sent independently over the same field>
By means of these tAvo sets of building appraise¬
ments, the tax commissioners Avould be able to'
form a clear judgment as to the inoper valui-
tious to be jiut uiitui building innuovements.

3.  After defining these tAA'o classes of value, to
■wit, the land value and tbe imiirovenieut value^