Research

Administrative History

The Commission for the Revision of the Tax Laws was created by Chapter 726 of the Laws of 1930, originally to submit recommendations for how to deal with the state budget surplus of nearly $100 million. The mission of the commission changed over the next several years (L. 1931, Ch. 12, 624; L. 1932, Ch. 25, 41, 510) as the Great Depression transformed the surplus into a substantial deficit. However, some of its goals remained the same despite the budget's deterioration. It was tasked with redesigning the state's tax structure to distribute the burden as widely and evenly as possible, with a specific eye for relieving property taxes. The commission lasted through most of the Depression and authored at least six reports. It was commonly known as the Mastick Commission, after its chairman, Seabury C. Mastick.