Confidential material submitted to Commission A0136

Confidential material submitted to Commission

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Overview of the Records

Repository:

New York State Archives
New York State Education Department
Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230

Summary:

The Commission for the Revision of the Tax Laws, during the Great Depression, 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. This series consists of two bound volumes containing reports and data sets regarding the state budget and financial situation that were assembled to allow the commission to make recommendations for changes.

Creator:

New York (State). Commission for the Revision of the Tax Laws

Title:

Confidential material submitted to Commission

Quantity:

0.5 cubic feet

(2 volumes)

Inclusive Dates:

1930-1931

Series Number:

A0136

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.

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of two bound volumes compiled by commission member Walter L. Pratt. The volumes contain reports and data sets regarding the state budget and financial situation that were assembled to allow the commission to make recommendations for changes. The first volume contains data and draft reports from state agencies relating to topics such as real estate burden, state revenues and expenditures, highway finance, tax administration, the competitive significance of taxes, and the possible reorganization of government. The second volume includes reports concerning issues such as the probable future load on the tax system, motor transportation taxes, agricultural real estate, state support for schools, real property titles, and retail sales taxes.

Related Material

Series A3231, Second report ("Depression taxes and economy through reform of local government"), 1933, contains the second report of the Commission for the Revision of the Tax Laws.