Spencer Heath Archive

Item 1151

Found together with Item 12

As one who for some years has pondered the whole subject of public income and the evils incident to its forcible collection by the familiar process of taxation, I am eager to commend your keen and comprehensive article on the subject of real property taxation appearing in the HOUSE BEAUTIFUL for February. In this admirable article you state the critical situation that has developed and you discuss the merits and objections to some eight palliative measures and finally conclude that “there must be a sweeping change in the method of taxing property, plus a means of supplementing the municipal income.”

It is here that I would propose the possibility of a new, broader and wholly constructive policy of public income — neither defensive nor palliative — for the preservation of real estate values against the burden of what we have no choice but to accept as public services.

What is contemplated is the actual performance of essential public services by the appropriate real estate interest itself for the purpose of inducing new revenues to itself in recompense for the new services performed, and thus building up entirely new values instead of trying merely to preserve those that exist. There should not be, nor is there, in principle, any essential difference in the conduct of different kinds of community business. All such services differ from other businesses and services in nothing but that they are supplied not to a special and limited clientele but to the population in general and by common participation of all the established occupants of the community, including all others present and sustaining social or business relationships with them.

By this description a geographic or municipal community does not essentially differ, except in point of size, from a hotel or other business property affording occupancy and common services to whatever population (however changing) is contained within the physical community bounds. There are, indeed, municipal communities having smaller populations than those contained in large hotel or apartment properties and other business properties of a community kind.

Unless a community — a place on the earth — is property, there is no one in position to be recompensed voluntarily for the services, the common services, with which the community is in any manner supplied. All business communities have owners, and it is the recognized function of those owners to distribute among the occupants whatever advantages of living or of doing business the community may possess. This they do by the free and voluntary process of making contracts with the occupants whereby each becomes possessed of that portion of the property that he most desires and in or on which he can most efficiently and abundantly produce. And, beyond this distribution of occupancy by voluntary contracts, it is also the obvious function of the owners to maintain all the advantages and services appertaining to their community property, to extend the existing services and, as time goes on, to provide new ones, all in accordance with the growing wealth, numbers and needs of the occupants and inhabitants. All of this is quite commonplace in the successful ownership and administration of community properties of the usually more restricted type. These properties, within their limited confines, afford to their occupants most if not all of what are treated as public or governmental services in political communities — such as physical security and protection, water and drainage, horizontal and vertical transportation, and recreational and cultural facilities of many kinds. Yet those properties must and do receive their ample or at least sufficient revenues through none but the voluntary contractual obligations of their several occupants. Their entire administration is conducted without resort to violence or coercion of any kind on the part of their owners who administer them. And if violence or fraud should be attempted by any of the community servants or employees, the community owners are