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C OMMUNIC ATION
FROM THE
WITH
STATEMENT
SHOWING THE
AGGREGATE OF PERSONAL TAX
IMPOSED AND REMISSIONS ON SAME FOR AND DURING THE
Year 1873.
-----«-------
To the Board of Supervisors,
County of New York.
NEW YORK:
EVENING POST STEAM PRESSES,
41 Nassau Street, corner of Liberty.
1 8 7 4.COMMUNICATION
FROM THE
To the Honorable the Board of Supervisors of the County of New
York:	'
The Commissioner of Taxes and Assessments acknowledge
the receipt of the following resolution, adopted by your Board
on the 2d instant:
“ Resolved, That the Commissioners of Taxes and Assess-
ments be, and are hereby, requested, to furnish this Board, at
its next regular meeting, Monday, March 16th, 1874, with a
statement, showing the aggregate of the personal tax imposed
upon the personal property in this county, and a statement in
detail of the corrections and remissions in such taxes for and
during the year 1873.”
And in compliance with the request therein, respectfully
submit the following
STATEMENT:
It would be a literal fulfillment of the requirements of the
resolution to say that the aggregate assessments for personal
tax imposed upon the personal property in this county, for the
year 1873, were $292,447,643, and that the corrections and re-4
missions on such assessments, for and during the year 1873,
were as follows:
Corrections and remission by order of the Supreme Court,
General Term, $2,241,862.
Corrections and remission by the Commissioners, by autho-
rity of law, $249,750.
In each case where the Commissioners have remitted or re-
duced an assessment since the books closed on the 30th of
April last, the action has been founded upon an affidavit, of
which the following is a copy in blank :
“ City and County of New York, ss. :
“ A. B. being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he was
unable to attend upon the Commissioners of Taxes and Assess-
ments for the reduction of his assessment for the year 1873,
within the period prescribed for the correction of taxes in said
city and county, by reason of sickness or absence from said
city, from January 12th to April 30th, 1873 ; and that the value
of his personal property, subject to taxation, did not, on the
12th of January, 1873, exceed the sum of
dollars.
“ A. B. ’
Sworn to, before me, this day )
of	1873.	\
But the Commissioners, with a desire to present the facts
fully, submit the following additional statement, showing the
assessed and corrected valuations of personal property for the
year 1873 :*
5
			j Assessed	Corrected
			Valuation. j	Valuation.
Shareholders of Banks...			$87,955,700!	$77,650,395
Insurance Companies. .. .			61,220,750!	7,615,915
Trust Companies				5,530,000	3,142,452
Express Companies				6,850,000	254,000
Railroad Companies				21,788,000	3,994,453
Gas Companies	 . ...			12,000,000	7,696,409
Miscells. Companies... . .			07,^60,752	21,500,854
Resident individuals				234,799,050'	140,761,500
Non-residents	■...			56,214,800	29,831,665
Total............... .......	$554,225,0521 $292,447,643
Thus it will be seen that at the time the books of annual
record were open the Commissioners had valued the personal
property subject to taxation at $554,225,052, and that when the
books closed this amount had been reduced, mainly upon the
affidavits of those assessed, and in a small part by the returns
from the bureau for the collection of arrears of parties not
found or discovered to be worthless, to $292,447,643, or very
nearly one-half.
In the case of corporations, the reduction, to the extent of
many millions, was caused by deducting from the capital so
much thereof as was invested in real estate, while in the case
of individuals the reductions were based upon debts as an
offset to possession, or to the possession of some species of
property for the ownership of which the individual cannot by
law be assessed.
During nearly the whole time the books were open, in 1873,
a tax of 3.20 per cent, was supposed to be impending, and the
apprehension of such a rate doubtless induced many to change
the form of their investments to escape it.
At this date the rate of 3.40 per cent., which is supposed to
be impending, is producing disastrous effects upon material
interests of the county.6
Some change investments to avoid such a rate, others change
their residences or remove their business, and others still are
deterred from entering upon business in or removing to a city
threatened with such an imposition. The alarm last year
proved to be groundless, and it is not possible now to say with
certainty that the rate for this year will be as has been pre-
dicted ; but the mischief done is irreparable.
Those who have anything to do with the administration of
the tax laws of this State, or who have paid any special atten-
tion to their operation, realize the fact that crude, imperfect
and contradictory in themselves, they have, under the weight
of the enormous amount of government obligations exempt
from taxation, completely broken down.
These government securities have so largely changed the
methods of business, that they are now an important element
in occupations of the most active and varied character, and are
by no means restricted to the hoards of the retired capitalist,
or the transactions ot those whose pursuits are entirely
financial.
In a report made in May, 1871, the Commissioners said :
“ The precipitation upon the country, and especially upon
this financial centre, within a short time, of hundreds of mil-
lions of United States bonds bearing a high rate of interest
and exempt from taxation, while during the same period local
taxation was largely increased by the very causes which re-
quired the issue of the non-taxable bonds, at once provided
the means and sharpened the wits of those who have an in-
grained aversion to paying taxes.”
And again, in a report made in June, 1872, the Commis-
sioners said :
“ Each year since 1864, when the volume of United States
bonds became a largely disturbing element, the impression has
been more and more widely entertained, that the present
method of State assessment upon personal property would
have to be abandoned. It is alleged that the system has been7
so violently disturbed that it has ceased to be a system, and
become in practice effete. Instead of being a tax upon personal
property, it has in effect become a tax upon ignorance and
honesty. That is to say, its imposition—a word of very broad
significance—is restricted to those who are not informed
by a means of evasion, or knowing the means, are restrained
of the nice sense of honor from resorting to them.”
Indeed, it may well be doubted whether, under existing laws,
crumbled as they have been by judicial interpretations, any in-
dividual or corporation—the stockholders of banks excepted—
need submit to the imposition of a tax upon personal property
when there is a purpose to resort to any of the several
methods of avoidance. It is a singular fact that, as a
mass, the residents of New York have heretofore shown less
avidity (as statistics prove) to avail themselves of the means of
evasion than the residents of other portions of the State. It
is, in short, highly creditable to the taxpayers of this county,
that where shun-pikes are so numerous and accessible, the
owners of some two hundred millions of money (excluding
bank shareholders) were willing to adhere to the turnpike and
pay the toll.
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN WHEELER, ) Commissioners of
GEO. H. ANDREWS, V Taxes and
S. D. MOULTON, ) Assessments.
Department of Taxes, and Assessments,
New York, March 16th, 1874.
Which was referred to the Special Committee appointed
July 7th, 1873, to investigate irregular and unjust assessments.