Show THE TAX REDUCTION That was a splendid piece of work which was done in the city council sitting as aboard a-board of equalization on Wednesday evening I even-ing and the public will appreciate it On motion of Councilman YOUNG the taxes Dil real estate and improvements were reduced 20 per cent The relief is timely for a good many good people did not know itla L 1f g whence the money was to come to satisfy the collector next month Even with the reduction there will be not a little distress I for the taxes are yet exorbitant as compared com-pared with those of the past We are told that the city needs the money which it was proposed to collect and that the government cannot be successfully carried car-ried on without it that the administration will be crippled by cutting off this 20 per cent and that no Improvements can be made but that kind of talk dont go The government could not be successfully carried on by the present council with twice or ten times the money that the high tax woula have yielded It isnt in the council to give a successful administration as the history of last year with the expenditure ex-penditure of 1000000 and the very worst government Salt Lake ever had demonstrated demon-strated And as for improvements for eighteen months people have been asking where are any not paid for by special taxes We do not doubt that some annoyance to department heads will follow this attempt to save tho people from oppression but no rea interest of the municipality need suffer The efficiency of every department can be maintained if 1 the paid but useless hangerson are dispensed with If unnecessary unneces-sary officers are given their walking papers and money is expended intelligently and for legitimate purposes There is another feature of this tax reduction re-duction which may be referred to as matter mat-ter for congratulation The relief of the people from unnecessary distress is of first importance and next to this is the welfare of tho city It cannot be successfully denied that the outrageous taxation imposed Im-posed by the present administration did more than anything else to check the citys extraordinary prosperity No sooner were the booming taxes SoO percent per-cent increase over the previous yearannounced than the boom receded and ever since there has been a study decline in real estate Buyers were alarmed and fought shy They feared to purchase lest the property might bo left on their hands in which event it would soon be eaten up by taxes Even the extraordinary amount of building done last year could not encourage capitalists from the outside to buy our lots and take chances with us in the progressive city This year there was another increase of the taxes and the result has been almost paralyzing Everybody feels discouraged disheartened pretty nearly everybody has protested against the oppression and appealed ap-pealed for reliefrelief for themselves in ividually and for the city which two years ago had a record of being the lowest taxed city in the west and today is known as the highest taxed We say the effect of Wednesday nights tax reduction trifling as it is compared with the outrageous increases of last year and this will be beneficial to the city It will be notice to people that the cormorant policy is not to be continued and that the municipal government may have some consideration ideration for tho individual property owner It may inspire capitalists who were driven off by the greed of the administration ad-ministration that perhaps they can afford to own property in Salt Lake even if they do have to hold it over a tax collection day |