Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 22, no. 546: August 31, 1878

Text version:

Real Estate Record AND BUILDERS^ GUIDE. YoL. xxn. NEW YORK, SATÜEDAY, AUGUST 31, 1878. No. 54G. Published Weekly by i^lje %ml (Bünk %uotti %%sotmimx, TERMS. -J 0!VE YEAU, in advance....SlO.OU. I Coininunications should be addressed to ;^ C. \V. SWEET, ,ä| Nos. 3-15 AXD M" Broadway THE TAX COMMISSIONERS REPORT. No ollice in the city government excoeds in au¬ thority ancl responsibilitj- that of tho Coniinis- sioiiere of Tuxes and Assessments. In their hands is deposited absolute and autocratic power to levy on the property and snbstance of Citizens such quotaof taxation as may seem proper and right to themselves. Tliis i^ower of lixing valua¬ tions, as measures of the tax indebtment for which each Citizen shall bo held liable, atfects the interests of individual tiix-paj-ci-s far more seri¬ ously than does the power of the Board of Esti¬ mate and Apportiomnent, by which the aggregate of city expenditures Is determiued each year. A slight increiuse to the extent of a few hundred or thousand dollai"s in individual valuations will extract from the ta.x-payer's pocket a larger sum of money in the way of tax than would the in- creiise of hundreds of thousands of dollars in the sum total of the annual budget. The Commissioners of Taxes and Assessments, in the light of their authority nnd responsibility, may be rognrded as administering the most au- gust and most delicatc oflice in tlie government; one towards which the aetive vigilance and jeal- ous scmtiny of Citizens generally, and tax-payere particularly, should be unrernittingly directed. The manner in which the duties of this office may be discharged, and the X'esults that may be ac¬ complished, depend largely upon the houestj', capacity and intelligence of the oflicers adminis¬ tering it. Fortunatelj' their work is one of rec¬ ord, and should be of open record. So far as accessible, it may be made the subject of fair and candid criticism. The niea.sure of personal qual- ification possessed by these oflicers, however, may be best inferred from their ofllcial report. Such a document has lately been spread before the pub¬ lic. To the real estate community this report possesses more than ordinary interest at the pres¬ ent time. Of all the questions most intimately associated with the present and the future %vel- fare of real estate, that of taxation is the supreme and overehadowing one. We have waited patiently and anxiouslj' for the appearance of this ofRcial document, and pro¬ pose to offer our comments upon tho vereion of iE which appears in the CUi/ liecord. :. 1. What it Contains.—The present report is more remarkable for what it leaves unsaid than for what it says. Like most offlcial documents its style is bumptious and bland ; dropping a few woi'ds of oondolence over the misfortunes of the country and indulging in some passing dilettante criticism upon the causes which have led to our present coraplications, and upon the prospects and probabilities of an early retui'n of prosperity. Rapid transit entei-prises are justly regarded as powerfiü Ipvers in pronaolapg a rpvivpl of muiiic- ipal growth and vigor. But this is the only gleam of brightness that the writer is able to dis¬ cover, otherwise he says, in effect, " Live hoi"se until spring, and j-nu shall have grass." "While acknowledging, as he does, tho füll and awful ex¬ tent of tho present Stagnation and depreciation in real estate, he fails to olTer a Single Suggestion, praetical or available, calculated to remove the one great bürden from the back of our oppressed interest, to wit: grinding and destructive taxa- ation. A large share of the report is taken up with quotations from previous documents covering the tjuestion of a general and indiscriminate reduc¬ tion of valuations. This (itiostion has beeu i)re- sented so frequently in the public pre.ss and its true bearings and effect have been canvassed so tlioroughly that it would appear to l)a almo.st gi'atuitous to enter into any further discussion of it. The merest tj-ro in government or in taxa¬ tion must imderstand by this time that no snb¬ stantial benefit can be derived from an indis¬ criminate reduction of valuations, while tho gross sum of government expenses remains un¬ changed. The agitators of this que.stion might far bettcr direct thoir energies towards effecting a reduction of the city expenses, which would have the immediate rosult of reducing the per¬ centage rate of tax.-ition, even if the pre.sent valuations were allowed to remain unchanged. It is the budget of taxation, the sum total of city expenses, the sinecure and excessive salaries, costly and mmecessary public works and kindred items which should be made the subject of attack. A whole.sale reduction of valuations would simply result ni an increase of tho per¬ centage rate, and leave the tax-payer's bill prac- ticallj- unchanged in amount. The object aimed at by the advocates of this scheme of indiscrimi¬ nate reduction is to try and avoid a share of State taxation. However large a reduction may bo made in city valuations the amount thus taken off might be and would be quickly restored by the State assessors at their next meeting. It is high time that the Citizens of the State .should be intelligently instructed with regard to this subject of State taxation. The present method of levyhig it seems to be thoroughly de- fective and perplexing. No Sj-stem, however, should be accepted or even tolerated which pro- poses to levy the Stiite tax in any other way than by apportioning just and equitable quotas of it among the various couo^ies. Another and a novel reason adverted^to bj- the commissioners for refusing to reduce valuations, namely, the adverse effect that it would be likely to have upon tho credit of the city seems to us, to say the least, to be a very far fetched proposrition. Wo are at a loss to conceive what connection there can be between the duties of the commis- sionei-s and tho financial credit of tho city. It certainly would be disreputable to attempt to bolster the credit of the city by flxing unjust and inordüiate valuations upon real and ; personal estate. The credit of the city must Iforever rest upon the promptness with which its obligations are met as weU as upon the intelligence, enter¬ prise and tbrift of its Citizens. The duties of the Tax Comraissionere lie in an altogether different sphere, It is their business to fix juat and equit¬ jible y&Umtions upon property witboijt. rtäf^rouco to the city's credit or to anj- other extrinsic con sideration. If the citj-'s credit is in danger, it will not be helped bj- a know-ledge that its tax valuations are artificiallj- stilted. Auotlier subject largelj- dwelt upon in the present report is that of bank capital. It seems to be ono of the favorite liobbies of the writer to extol the influence of capital above every other agencj- under the heavens. AVe are impressivelj- told that but for capiUil tho value of New York real estate todaj- would !)e no greater than it was tln-ee hundred j-ears ago. We have no other re- .s])nnse to make to this proposition than to suggest that in tho ndvancement oL civilization there are other forces (pu'to as important as capital ; brains and labor being entitled to occupj- at least an ecjual plane. There are tnillions upon millions of capital going to waste, if not to rot, in this citj- for the want of intelligent and enterprising minds to direct it in safe and profitable Channels. The form of organized capital represented iu banks of deposit seems to be a particular object of solicitation bj- the conuni.ssioner.s. An alto- getlier inconsiderable shrinkage of bank capital is held up as verification of an oflicial prophecj' made a few j'ears ago, at the time it was decided to tax t!ie surjilus as well as the stock capital of banks. Wo rogard thissympathj- aud considera¬ tion bestowed upon banks almost iis thrown awaj-, because in normal coiulitions of business thej' find little difiicultj- in paj'ing current taxes, as well as enormous dividends to" stockholders. That their reflundant capital should be unavail- able and unprofitable in times like these is not to bo wonrlered at, and certainlj- should not be re¬ ferred soielj- to the oppression of taxation. It should be faikeu rather as indicative of the caution and wisdom of bank managers that, in riskj- and imsettled times like the present, thej- should take in sail at the earliest moment and snug up their atfaii-s to await future developments. There is no question, however, but that bank capital is just as severelj- taxed in this citj- as real estate, albeit the former is far better able to bear the bürden, having a more instant power of reassess- ing it. Of .lll taxed interests in New York, real estate and bank capital should combine together in resisting their enormoiLs oppression and in en- deavoring to secure a new adjustnienfof taxation. The report abounds in tables, Statistical and otherwise, which are worthj' of being preserved, although not presenting anj- verj- important in- formation. For example here is an abstract of one of them: ASSESSMENT OF PERSONAL TAXATION. Names on roUs at Applications for Year. opening of books. reductions. 187li........ 13.054 5, OTO 1877 ...... ll>,«19 8,600 1878...... IS.'-'IS 9,560 By this schedule it appears that the efforts öf the commissionei-s have been greatlj- quickened during tho past three j^ears, and in consequence they have been enabled to enrol three thousand additional names as liable to pei-sonal taxation, and within this same period a very large in¬ crease, nearly 100 per cent,, is apparent of those who feit aggrioved nt assessments and who applied for reductions. The number of thia ein-«« given for 1878 ia 9,.*)66,